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 There were four deaths, and severe damage totaling just under $13.8 million (1928 USD). At Palm Beach, which had many houses owned by wealthy individuals, approximately 1,500 houses and 500 businesses were destroyed. Damage totaled around $10 million. Inland, many communities on the southern and eastern shores of Lake Okeechobee, such as the cities of Belle Glade, Canal Point, Chosen, Miami Locks (today Lake Harbor), Pahokee, and South Bay, were ravaged by flooding after storm surge resulted in water pouring out of the shallow lake over the small dikes. Numerous structures were swept away or destroyed, and at least 2,500