October 27, 2005
Hurricane Wilma hit hard but moved across the southern part of Florida quickly. Some people lost electricity and experienced water and wind damage. All of the Alliance churches in the region haven’t been contacted yet, but the news from the district office is that churches on the west coast (Naples, Fort Myers) made it through the hurricane with minor to no damage to their facilities. However, other areas such as Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) were hit particularly hard. Several churches in the southeast region of the state had roof damage, which allowed water to enter the buildings.
So far, there have been no reports of injuries to Alliance people. Several homes received damage, especially modular or mobile houses. The main concern is the lack of electricity, with estimates that it might take two to four weeks to restore power. Lines are long for gasoline, and the wait at some stations is up to two hours.
The churches in Charlotte County that received significant damage from Hurricane Charley in August 2004 were spared damage to their buildings. Some of these churches just finished rebuilding this past summer.