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Everglades City: Nothing Like Wilma

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 19, 2008

6:50 a.m. With driving rain and buffeting 50- to 60-mph winds, Tropical Storm Fay swept over Southwest Florida this morning. It set its sights on Emerald City, a tiny fishing hamlet that shrugged off the weather today, saying it has been worse.

Like in 2005, when Hurricane Wilma stomped through here. People here remember that, and compared to Wilma, Fay is a powder puff.

Still, wind whipped through palm trees and wobbled street signs. Streets of downtown Everglades City were flooded in the early morning darkness. Some roads were impassable. High tide was expected soon, but locals didn't think the flooding would get much worse.

"We've had no real problems, said Ochopee Everglades City Fire Rescue Lt. Rob Campbell as he stood in the bay of the fire station near downtown.

Out front there was perhaps 6 inches of water standing in the road, most of which was rainwater, he said. He expected the flooding to recede with a few hours.

"It will drop real quick," he said.

Locals west and south of U.S. 41 were under a voluntary evacuation order, and the Collier County Sheriff's Office had imposed a curfew, Campbell said.

It could have been worse. Fay had crossed Cuba yesterday and could have used her time in the Florida Straits to strengthen into a hurricane, but it did not. Instead, it hit southwest Florida as a massive rain and wind storm, dumping between 4 and 8 inches of rain..

Campbell said that during Wilma, firefighters were moved to higher and dryer land.

"Wilma," he said, "tore the roof off city hall."

This morning, few people are up and out.

"Half the people here slept through it this morning," he said.

Mostly, television news crews are the only people on the street here right now. One intrepid adventurer swept past on a canal in an airboat.

"Just having some fun," Campbell said.

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