Hurricane Wilma Hits Florida

 

October 24, 2005 -- Hurricane Wilma made landfall in Florida early Monday morning, slamming into the southwest side of the state as a powerful Category 3 hurricane.  Sustained winds have reached up to 125 miles per hour; pounding waves are punishing and flooding low-lying areas.  More than 300,000 homes and businesses have lost power in the Keys and cities such as Fort Lauderdale and Miami .

 

Wilma is the eighth hurricane Florida residents have dealt with over the past 15 months and has prompted the year’s fourth evacuation of the Keys.  The National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects to see follow-up damage from Wilma when storm surges reach up to 19 feet in places.  The storm is moving rapidly across the state in a northeast direction at speeds of up to 23 miles per hour. 

 

Hurricane Wilma also has been joined by four tornadoes that have formed in the surrounding areas, including one near the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral .  The tornadoes have been blamed for some structural damage; no injuries have yet been reported. 

 

AIReS expects that Wilma will have an enormous impact on the Southeastern United States , including those residents still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita earlier this year.  AIReS is prepared to deal with any and every situation that may arise as a result of this current threat. 

 

AIReS will continue to release updates as Hurricane Wilma progresses.  Should drastic actions such as office closings or related actions become necessary, we will utilize our resources to ensure that no clients experience interruptions in service quality.  We also will stay in close contact with every client and transferee affected by the storm and its aftermath to ensure that everyone is safe and has the resources they need to deal with this critical time period. 

 

# # #