Hurricane "Frances"
Ravages South Florida
Hurricane "Frances" hit Florida Labor Day weekend
devastating many of the golf courses in the southeastern part of
the state from Vero Beach to Ft. Lauderdale. Three million
people living along the east coast (East of I-95) were ordered to
evacuate - the largest evacuation order in the state's
history.
As "Frances" approached south Florida it stalled
and weakened to strong catagorie two hurricane. Many people
were thankful for the down-graded status of "Frances"
but her stalling effect managed to bash the east coast with
high speed winds and rain for the better part of two days.
"Frances's" longevity caused over half a million Floridians to go
several days without power. To date (Sept. 17th), thousands
of residents in the Palm Beach area are still without power,
telephone and running water.
You can see in the photos to the left of this
article some of the damage to Bocaire Country Club where I
work which "Frances" left in her wake. Many clubs in Palm
Beach and Martin County areas suffered worse or similar
damage to Bocaire. Many clubs lost hundreds of trees
which will never be replaced or will take dozens of years to
grow back. Thankfully, most clubs in our area only suffered
tree damage, with minimal damage to club houses, homes, etc.
Unfortunately, most clubs have a hurricane deductable of $250,
000 - $500, 000 to replace the damaged trees, which means the
residents of those golf communities will be assessed thousands of
dollars to restore the clubs to their original beauty.
