Wilma Hits Florida Early Monday AM

NAPLES, Florida (CNN.com) -- Hurricane Wilma slammed into south Florida on Monday with high winds, driving rains and storm surges, killing one man in Coral Springs before weakening.

Gov. Jeb Bush said at least 2.2 million homes were without electricity and some 4,000 utility workers were on standby to begin repairs after the storm passes.

Bush said there were reports of several tornado touchdowns in central Florida since Sunday night and the threat of tornados on the eastern peninsula continues. (Watch Wilma's damage in Florida -- 1:53)

Significant storm surge flooding also has been reported in the Keys, Bush said.

The storm made landfall as a powerful Category 3 at 6:30 a.m. ET, about 22 miles south of Naples, the National Hurricane Center said. Its top winds were 125 mph.

In Hollywood, between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the storm felled trees, and a fire hydrant was ripped out of its position, opening a steady spray of water. (Watch Wilma uproot a tree in Miami -- 1:22)

At 11 a.m. ET, Wilma was a Category 2 storm, located about 15 miles north-northeast of West Palm Beach, moving northeast at 25 mph with winds of about 105 mph.

"The metropolitan areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Dade County are experiencing some of the worst of the weather now," said NHC deputy director Ed Rappaport. "Over the next hour or two conditions will actually get worse. It's important for people to just stay inside." (Watch latest forecast on Wilma -- 2:44)

Just hours after landfall, Wilma was blamed in the death of a man in Coral Springs who was killed by a falling tree, according to the Broward County Emergency Management Agency.

West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel said she had retreated to a safe room at the police department, and "the wind is blowing very, very strongly."

"The phones have gone down even at our emergency operations center," she said. "As soon as we get any break, we will get teams out to begin assessment while there's a lull, and then we'll get back in and wait on the back end of the storm."

Whitecaps in the pool

CNN's Allan Chernoff watched Wilma tear at his hotel in Hollywood.

"The wind here is absolutely ferocious," he said.

"Sand is just flowing in from the beach, which is just a few hundred yards away. On the first floor of the hotel, one window has already crashed into the restaurant -- glass all over the restaurant.

"The pool immediately below me looks like the ocean. There are whitecaps in the pool right now and the palm trees right in front of me right now are just whipping back and forth. So, it's very intense at the moment."

Wilma is the eighth hurricane to hit the state in 14 months, and officials said they were concerned that thousands of people had ignored a mandatory evacuation order in the Florida Keys.

The NHC is concerned about the low-lying Florida Keys "because of their particular vulnerability."

FEMA: 'We're going to move quickly'

R. David Paulison, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Monday he was most concerned about Floridians who did not choose to evacuate ahead of the storm, especially in the Keys.

"We're going to move as quickly as we can ... to get the roads cleared, and as soon as we can, get helicopters up to start moving our search and rescue teams in," Paulison said. (Watch the FEMA chief on Wilma search and rescue -- 2:37)

On Sunday, "very few" residents of the Florida Keys heeded the evacuation order, said Billy Wagner, manager of the Monroe County Emergency Operations Center.

No shelters were opened in the Keys due to a lack of structures that can withstand hurricane-force winds and rain.

A storm surge of 5 to 8 feet is predicted for the Keys, Wagner said.

"I'm very concerned about those subjected to storm surge," Wagner said.

The Keys, just a quarter-mile wide in many places, are mostly between 4 to 6 feet above sea level.

Havana rocked

Wilma flooded parts of Havana, Cuba, on Monday after its eye wall passed over the island nation.

Most of the downtown and central sections of the capital are under water -- up to six feet deep in some places -- and crews are rescuing people from windows and rooftops. (Full story)

Waves have been crashing over the city's sea wall.

Although nearly 500,000 people were evacuated from the country's western tip, evacuation orders for the capital weren't issued until after midnight while many people were sleeping.

Electricity was cut off in Havana on Sunday in advance of the storm.

Civil defense crews were busy using boats to rescue people, including rowboats from an amusement park that are normally used to ferry children.

The ground in western Cuba was already saturated from days of rain that began when Wilma passed to the south on its way to Mexico, where it pounded the Yucatan Peninsula for two days.

Four deaths were blamed on the storm in Mexico.