Southwest Florida Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its sugar white sand beaches, lush tropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally considered to put it south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee, and mostly north of the Everglades and to include Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. For some purposes, the inland counties of DeSoto, Glades, and Hendry, and the thinly populated mainland section of Monroe County, south of Collier, are also
Effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in Florida September 17, informing them that the damage had been "exaggerated". The board even considered protesting news agencies that write "exaggerated" reports and warned that there would be requests for retraction. Knight was harshly criticized for marginalizing the disaster, with Palm Beach County Red Cross Chairman Howard Shelby responding with a telegraph stating, "If you serve as a spokesman for the entire state, won't you kindly make a personal visit here?", while the "Okeechobee News" called Knight "a jackass". To prevent a recurrence of disasters such as the Okeechobee hurricane and the 1926 Miami hurricane, the Florida Legislature created the Okeechobee