Wilma’s Strongest Winds Hit Southwest Fla.

By DAVID ROYSE

KEY WEST, Fla. – Hurricane Wilma crashed ashore early Monday as a strong Category 3 storm, battering southwest Florida with 125 mph winds and pounding waves that threatened flooding in low-lying areas.

Wilma made landfall at 6:30 a.m. EDT near Cape Romano, 22 miles south of Naples in Collier County, bringing with it a potential 19-foot storm surge, the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane-force wind of at least 74 mph extended 90 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds reached 230 miles, the hurricane center said. The storm strengthen in the hours before making landfall.

More than 22,600 people were in shelters across the state. But in the low-lying Florida Keys, not even 10 percent of the Keys’ 78,000 residents evacuated, Sheriff Richard Roth said.

That could prove to be a mistake: While Wilma did not make landfall over the Keys, the storm could bring a surge of 8 feet to sections of the low-lying island chain.

“They’re going to be in deep trouble,” warned Billy Wagner, the senior Monroe County emergency management director. Street flooding was reported in the Keys, while power outages were reported in both the Keys and along the southwest side of the state.

The fast-moving hurricane was next expected to slice northeast across the state at up to 25 mph, with the Atlantic Coast likely to get winds nearly as strong as those hitting the Gulf Coast.

“Less weakening should occur as compared to typical hurricanes moving over land,” said forecaster Stacy Stewart of the hurricane center. “Therefore, Wilma is expected to be a Category 2 hurricane when it reaches the Florida east coast.”

Gov. Jeb Bush asked that Florida be granted a major disaster declaration for 14 counties. Many of the areas bracing for Wilma were hit by hurricanes in the past two years.

The National Guard was on alert, and state and federal officials had trucks of ice and food ready to deploy. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was poised to send in dozens of military helicopters and 13.2 million ready-to-eat meals if needed.

In Miami Lakes, as Wilma spun more than 150 miles away, the blue glow of transformers exploding illuminated the pre-dawn sky. Large signs marking exits on the Palmetto Expressway were already toppled by Wilma’s gusts – which were only a tropical storm force at that time.

Wilma’s arrival also was announced by at least four tornadoes – including one near Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral – that caused some structural damage, but no injuries.

Wilma is Florida’s eighth hurricane in 15 months and prompted the fourth evacuation of the Keys this year. It earlier battered the Mexican coastline with howling winds and torrential rains.

At least three people were killed in Mexico. Thirteen others died in Jamaica and Haiti, and four bodies were found off Cozumel, though it wasn’t clear if they were killed by the storm.

One serious injury was reported in Florida on Sunday: a 12-year-old girl suffered a fractured skull in Wellington when falling hurricane shutters struck her head, said Palm Beach County Sheriff’s spokesman Paul Miller.

The girl, Julia Bijuli-Singh, was in critical condition at Delray Medical Center, Miller said. Hospital officials would not update her condition. The girl’s mother was also hospitalized with cuts, Miller said.

In Europe, crude oil slipped below $60 as traders expected Wilma to avoid already battered Gulf of Mexico oil producing and refining facilities. At least four companies operating in the gulf shut down production platforms.

Weary forecasters also monitored Tropical Depression Alpha, which became the record-breaking 22nd named storm of the 2005 Atlantic season. Alpha, which drenched Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Sunday, was not considered a threat to the United States.

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Associated Press writers Allen Breed in Naples, Erik Schelzig in Marathon, Mike Schneider in Marco Island, Melissa Trujillo in Oakland Park, and Ron Word and Brent Kallestad in Miami contributed to this story.

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On the Net:

National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov