Restoration of the Everglades begins in the vicinity of Orlando. The Okeechobee River drains into Lake Okeechobee, a lake with an average depth of . During the wet season when the lake exceeds its capacity, the water leaves the lake in a very wide and shallow river, approximately long and wide. This wide and shallow flow is known as "sheetflow". The land gradually slopes toward Florida Bay, the historical destination of most of the water leaving the Everglades. Before drainage attempts, the Everglades comprised , taking up a third of the Florida peninsula. Since the early 19th century the Everglades have been a subject
Effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in Florida 160 mph (255 km/h); the anemometer blew away after reporting sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h). The pressure at Canal Point dropped to 942 mbar (27.82 inHg). The lowest pressure north of Lake Okeechobee was 966 mbar (28.54 inHg) in Bartow, and along the west coast, winds reached in Tampa. Overall, property damage was estimated at $25 million. It is estimated if a similar storm were to strike as of the year 2002, it would cause about $16 billion in damages. The cyclone remains one of three Atlantic hurricanes to strike the southern mainland of Florida with a central