Three days after Hurricane Wilma sailed across southern Florida, the greatest difficulty was communication. The Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, bishop of Southeast Florida, said he hadn't been able to reach his archdeacon, and only one of his priests had a working cell phone. "He was in Indiana," Bishop Frade explained.

"We are trying to assess the damage but it is hard, with the curfew and the roads. Driving is tremendously dangerous-there are no traffic lights. I had to evacuate my building; I live on the 25th floor, next to the diocesan offices. With the power out, there is no elevator."

Communications officer Mary Cox said there had been no deaths or injuries reported. "Our greatest problem is getting through to people," she said. "This storm covered our whole diocese. Electricity just came back in the office Tuesday afternoon. One-third of the state lost power. We are totally dependent. It's humbling-kind of back in the stone age."

Churches and houses suffered roof damage and downed trees. A window in the cathedral hall was sucked out into the parking lot, and Bishop Frade said a stained glass window had cracked.

"The cold front was a blessing," Ms. Cox said, since it blew the storm through quickly, and left cool air in an area without air conditioning.

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