The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 130

THE PALM BEACH POST SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2005 Share your damage photos at PalmBeachPost.com Us is I 30 deaths in Florida (through Nov. 2) PALM BEACH COUNTY Katherine Pedell Kantor 82, suburban Boynton Beach, Oct 24 1 (L Is U4 it- 1 six The retired journalist was killed about 1 p.m., during the storm, when a sliding glass door flew off its track and struck her at her home at 10129 Diamond Lake Drive. Kantor had interviewed CBS' Edward R. Murrow and many others for TV Guide and had also been the New York correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. She and her husband, Leonard, had two sons and two rf Sa3 V7 I "Hi Murray Horowitz 83, Palm Beach, Oct.

24 Horowitz was struck about 1 p.m. by a sliding ghss door that flew off its track during the storm at his third-floor unit at Beach Point Condominium, 2660 S. Ocean Blvd. Rescue workers later determined he died of a heart attack. Louise Dorleans 39, Mangonia Park, Oct.

27 Dorleans, her 11-month-old baby, her boyfriend and a family friend had grilled outside her apartment at 4773 N. Australian Ave. Fearing the grill might be stolen, they had brought it inside, but it was still smoldering, police said. The friend called police in the morning when Dorleans and her boyfriend wouldn't wake up. Dorleans was dead at the scene.

The other three were taken to St. Mary's Medical Center and were later released. Dorleans is believed to have two children back in Haiti, police said. Sue-Ellen Kelly 65, Boynton Beach, Oct. 27 1 t' ifi jrf" "mm'A civ i Si? -Lffl RICHARD GRAULICHStaff photographer Hurricane Wilma tore the roof off this home on the St.

Lucie River in Sewall's Point. State Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher warned that Wilma will affect insurance rates. 15 minutes with Kelly, retired from the nursing and health care industry, drove through the intersection of Federal Highway and Martin Luther King Boulevard in Boynton Beach where traffic lights weren't working, and struck a FedEx truck. The driver of the truck was not hurt Kelly had a son and a daughter, Tammy Westbrook, who said about her mother "She loved life, she loved laughter, she loved having a good time. She loved ayfield ax listening to gospel music, all the finer things in life.

And she loved to eat! She had four grandchildren she adored, and my youngest children won't be able to know their grandmother. I'm not mad at anyone, but I miss her so bad." Christopher Baker 14, Boynton Beach, Nov. 1 Baker, an eighth-grader at Odyssey Middle School and the son of an electrician, touched a downed power line in front of the Seagate apartment complex in the 2100 block of South Federal Highway. Christopher worked part-time and aspired to captain a boat or follow in his father's career. A with the director of the National Hurricane Center ST.

LUCIE COUNTY -rf 4 iiiilt Inli i Riley Lee 'Gator' Ware 59, Fort Pierce, Oct. 24 The teacher and Vietnam veteran, who had a history of heart disease and diabetes, collapsed and died following storm cleanup. He is survived by his wife, five sons, three daughters, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was buried Oct. 29 in Fort Pierce.

Rhonda 'Darlene' Bramel 49, Fort Pierce. Oct. 24 Bramel, who sold betting tickets at Fort Pierce Jai-Alai for nearly 16 years, was a passenger in a car that was struck by another car that went through the darkened intersection of Okeechobee Road and Virginia Avenue. Her colleagues at the fronton held a memorial service on Nov. 1.

She was buried in Maysville, Ky. Bramel had a son in Kentucky and a brother in Ohio. What was your most harrowing moment of the 2005 hurricane season? "Every landfall is a harrowing moment for me I don't think I could really pin it down. "The area where Katrina was heading, we've always known that New Orleans was our greatest concern anywhere on the Gulf Coast. "Even Wilma, knowing we'd have significant storm surge in the Keys and not getting a good response from die people down there to the mandatory evacuation order that really scared me.

Fortunately, the surge came in in daylight after the winds died down. There were no direct deaths from Wilma in the Keys. That was almost a miracle. There were people who came close to losing their lives." What makes you most proud about this season? The (forecasts for) landfalling hurricanes. I was just extremely proud of the staff from Dennis to Emily, certainly Katrina and Rita and Wilma.

Believe me, we've had some tired folks having to crank to put out the forecasts. It's been such an active year. We had three Category 5's in one season, and that's a record. Of all these 23 storms, all but three or four of these impacted land. "Regrettably, what I think the season will be remembered for is the deadliest year since 1928, and the costliest ever in the United States.

I've worked my whole career to prevent large loss of life. "People keep telling me to focus on all the lives we did save they did have high evacuation rates in New Orleans and the Mississippi coast (But) you can't help "One surprise was these high-rises that had all the windows blown out in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. I'll certainly trust our friends in the wind engineering community to tell us why that happened." Did you put shutters up at your own house for Wilma? "My wife did, bless her heart1 She's been through this drill many times. Anytime we have a hurricane warning up, the hurricane center and the Mayfield house- hold certainly board up." Any damage? "The house is fine. I just put a new metal roof on it did very well.

But I had a lot of tree dam-" age, like most people did. A fence broke, and a gate slicecl through nothing I'd consider critical." Last year, we asked you if you get stopped on the streets like a celebrity now. How's that going? Do people recognize you? "Occasionally. I have to admit getting more of that as time goes on. I'm not very comfortable with How many more seasons will you want to continue doing this for a living? "Quite frankly, I haven't slowed down enough to even think about retirement I'm a scientist but also a public servant I'm not sure that I see myself in any other role at this stage of my life.

I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be. "However, another year like this one, and I'll be the first to say that I will need to re-evaluate this." Robert P. King Max Mayfield but think about all those lives lost I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what we could have done differently at the National Hurricane Center." What made Wilma unusual, in your opinion? "I'm not sure I know anything unusual about it We've had large hurricanes before. Luckily, those Cat 3 winds were between Choko-loskee and Flamingo, where basically no one lives." Why was the track forecast for Wilma so accurate? "The observations are better than they've ever been before, and the numerical models have improved. The track forecasts continue to get better.

There is some theoretical limit we don't know what it is. You can't go to zero (error). One of these years in the near future, it's going to level off." Wilma's intensity took some Palm Beach County residents by surprise. Did the power of the back end surprise you? "Should they have been surprised? Absolutely not Most of the time, we were forecasting it to come across as a weakening Category 3. DEATHS STATEWIDE Collier Oct.

24: Man, 67, with history of heart disease and diabetes collapsed while surveying storm damage. Oct 24: Roof collapsed on 65-year-old woman in Immoka-lee. Oct. 24: After power failed at hotel, disabling elevators, 92-year-old guest walking down stairs missed a step, fell, and struck head; man died Nov. 2.

Oct 26: Concrete piling fell on 55-year-old man as he repaired a gate. Oct 27: Man, 66, with history of heart disease collapsed following cleanup. Oct 27: Woman, 68, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from generator in garage. Oct 28: Vehicle struck 25-year-old foreman of hurricane cleanup crew on 1-75 near Naples. Lee Oct 25: Bonita Springs woman, 70, who was dependent on oxygen equipment, fell ill when power failed; died later at Collier County hospital.

Miami-Dade Oct 24: Man, 60, drowned after he stayed on a sailboat during storm at a lake in Aventura, in northeast corner of county. Oct 24: One-year-old boy killed by falling utility pole. Oct 28: Man, 35, killed when his scooter passed through a darkened intersection and struck another vehicle. Oct 29: Gate fell on security guard, 72, as he tried to open it. Oct.

29: Man, 52, killed when bulldozer he was driving to remove debris overturned. Oct. 30: Woman, 69, was passenger in car that went through darkened intersection and struck a van. Oct. 30: Man, 61, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from gasoline generator operating in apartment.

Broward Oct. 24: Man, 40, killed when motorcycle struck downed tree in road during storm; died Oct 25. Oct. 24: Man, 55, went outside during storm and was struck by falling tree. Oct 26: Man, 75, struck by loose tree limb as he surveyed storm damage; died Oct 28.

Oct. 26: Man, 64, fell off ladder while cutting tree limbs; died Oct. 29. Oct. 27: Man, 48, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from generator in living room.

Oct. 27: Man, 51, helping repair roof of a friend's business, fell 40 feet through hole in roof. Hillsborough Oct 21: Man, 66, with heart disease, collapsed after placing sandbags in advance of storm. St. Johns Oct 21: Woman, 83, evacuating from Fort Myers, died when van overturned on 1-95 in St.

Augustine. Damage estimates Damage statewide Palm Beach: $2.86 billion Martin: $95.7 million St. Lucie: $43.4 million Broward: Worst hurricane damage in county in 55 years. Many downtown high-rises, as well as county courthouse, county administration building and school board headquarters lost windows and parts of exterior. At least three water mains broken.

Large piles of sand moved on Fort Lauderdale beach. More than 1,500 traffic signals knocked out. Miami-Dade: Many high-rise office and condominium buildings in and near downtown lost windows. Minor damage to Metrorail. Metro-zoo monorail and fences dam aged; no animals killed.

Rare trees at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Coral Gables damaged or destroyed. Nearly all 2,600 traffic signals knocked out. The Keys Five feet or more of flooding in Key West and Middle Keys. A third of Key West flooded. No damage to bridges and roads.

Fishing industry hammered. Southwest coast Storm surges of 7 feet at Chokolos-kee and Marco Island; 4 feet at Everglades City. Streets in Naples under 2 to 3 feet of water. Past storms' estimated insured losses: Katrina (2005): $34.4 billion Frances (2004): $4.6 billion Jeanne (2004): $3.66 billion Preliminary and incomplete Compiled by staff writer Eliot Kleinberg from Florida Department of Emergency Management, emergency managers of individual counties, Florida Power Light Insurance Information Institute and Palm Beach Post archives. Staff writers Christine Stapleton, Eve Samples, Jim Reeder, and Sandra Hong contributed.

Compiled by staff writer Eliot Weinberg from Honda Department of Emergency Management, individual medical examiners and law enfiircement agencies, and Palm Beach Post archives. Staff writers Sarah Pmhaska and Tony Doris and staff research-erMelanie Mena contributed Power: Approximately 3 MILLION customers lost power in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. I.