From southwest Florida, a caravan crawls

Residents of rapidly growing Naples and Fort Myers haven't dealt with a hurricane in nearly 40 years. But they remember Donna.

By MIKE BRASSFIELD

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 25, 1998

ens of thousands of people evacuated the southwest Florida coast Thursday, fearing storm surges that could inundate barrier islands and waterfront neighborhoods today.

More coverage from the Times on our Georges site.

After the Florida Keys, the next places in Georges' projected path today are Naples and Fort Myers -- rapidly growing areas that haven't dealt with a hurricane in nearly 40 years. But plenty of residents remember Hurricane Donna in 1960, which submerged islands under 10 feet of water and forever altered southwest Florida's landscape.

Residents of Lee and Collier counties, who had feared a direct hit from Georges, have watched as the hurricane's predicted route moved farther from their coast. Still, hurricane-force winds remain a possibility today and could combine with high tides and saturated ground to cause massive flooding.

"The roads are eerily deserted as we speak," said Bill Mills, assistant city manager of the nearly empty resort island of Sanibel.

"People are leaving. No matter what, we'll have serious wind and rain," said Anita Cereceda, mayor of Fort Myers Beach, a narrow island dotted with high-rises. Cereceda boarded up her T-shirt shop. "People are speculating at both extremes, from "Don't worry' to "Head for the hills.' "

Most of low-lying Marco Island's 12,000 residents obeyed an order to evacuate, said City Manager Bill Moss. "They know the roads off the island are going to flood early on."

Where were they all going? To friends' homes inland, to the few shelters available, or north to jockey for motel rooms in Orlando or Daytona Beach. They were told to avoid the Tampa Bay area.

Caravans of vehicles started north on Interstate 75 and U.S. 17, already crowded with Florida Keys refugees.

Collier County ordered mandatory evacuations for 42,000 people. Manatee County did the same for 6,000 on Longboat Key.

Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties called for coastal and mobile-home residents to voluntarily leave.

Georges' approach has evoked comparisons to Donna in 1960, the last major hurricane to directly hit the Keys and southwest Florida.

Donna roared over the Upper Keys at night, its 150-mph winds demolishing motels from Tavernier to Big Pine Key. It churned across the Everglades, permanently moving Collier County's seat of government from Everglades City to Naples.

It destroyed Naples' pier and pitched cars into Naples Bay. Near Fort Myers, it carved a channel that separated San Carlos Island from the mainland, the same way an 1848 hurricane carved out Johns Pass in Pinellas County.

Donna also triggered evacuations along the Suncoast, then emptied Tampa Bay as it trekked up the center of the state.

Unlike Donna, Georges is expected to pass 75 to 100 miles offshore of southwest Florida. But forecasters keep reminding residents that Georges is a large hurricane that hit some Caribbean islands with 20-foot waves.

The ground throughout southwest Florida already is saturated from heavy rains, said Kurt Harclerode, spokesman for the Lee County Emergency Management Center.

"The sponge is full," he said. "We're looking at serious flooding."