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WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- At least three people were killed and as
many as 3.2 million homes and businesses were knocked out of power in Florida
when Hurricane Wilma hit the southeastern US state on Monday.
The storm made landfall in Florida early Monday as a strong Category 3
hurricane, but weakened within hours into Category 2 before backing up again to
Category 3 early in the afternoon. Wilma swirled out of Florida in the afternoon
in the open Atlantic.
A man was killed by a falling tree, another died when his roof collapsed on
him and a third man was killed by wind-borne debris when he was trying to move
his van, news reports said.
Wilma, the eighth hurricane to hit Florida in 15 months, brought with it a storm
surge flooding along the coast near and to the south of where the storm
came ashore, and caused widespread damage.
More than 33,000 people went to shelters across the state.
Over 3,000 National Guardsmen were mobilized for relief operations after
the storm, and another 3,000 were on alert.
State and federal officials had trucks of ice and food ready todeploy, with
the Federal Emergency Management Agency poised to send in dozens of military
helicopters and 13.2 million ready-to-eat meals if needed, the news reports
said.
President George W. Bush signed a disaster declaration for
hurricane-damaged areas in the state, and promised prompt action to help
victims.
"We will work closely with local and state authorities to respond to this hurricane," he said. Enditem | 
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