[RN7]

FLORIDA

In 1964, Florida is still here, just most of the people are gone. While a total of six Russian nuclear weapons were targeted on the state, only two of them were on target, with three being duds and one more missing out to sea. Despite mostly dodging the nuclear bullet, Florida has seen much social disruption and chaos. Things have settled down by 1964, and recovery is in motion in many areas. Rumors of better crops in the state have brought waves of refugees south during the last six months. They have found that while the rumors are somewhat true, the remaining population of the Florida peninsula are some of the most heavily armed and best organized in North America and most of the refugees have been turned away or killed. There are frequent cholera outbreaks up and down the Florida peninsula, though they are not as severe as they were in 1963.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS
TARGET DATE TYPE SIZE NOTE
Cape Canaveral 10/28/62 SS-7 6 mT Missed 5 miles to NE
Orlando 10/28/62 SS-6 3 mT
Tampa 10/28/62 SS-4 1.2 mT
Homestead AFB 10/28/62 SS-4 1.2 mT Dud
Key West 10/28/62 SS-4 1.2 mT Dud
Key West 10/28/62 SS-4 1.2 mT Dud

2) ORGANIZED MILITARY FORCES IN FLORIDA
South Florida on the day the war started was thick with US military men, all concentrated here for the invasion of Cuba. Following the nuclear attacks, the state was largely abandoned, with nearly all active duty military personnel and material heading north or overseas. The 42nd Infantry Division, which was here for the invasion, was shipped off to certain death in Europe, leaving only local National Guardsmen to hold the state together. The state's two large National Guard divisions have both been shattered--the 51st Infantry during the chaos and the 48th Armored by being sent to Europe to get mauled. Today, only the area around Pensacola is still and organized federal enclave. The rest of the state is home to several intact National Guard units, though they are all of dubious loyalty to the state government, being barely more than hired guns. A small group of Cubans are in the Florida Keys, as well, though they are not sure they like being here.

51st Infantry Division--Jacksonville (300 men)
48th Armored Division
------2nd Howitzer Battalion/265th Artillery Regiment--Palm Beach (400 men)
241st Infantry Regiment--Pensacola (1500 men, 2 AFVs)
648th Engineer Battalion--Orlando (720 men, 4 AFVs)
Fidel Castro Brigade--Vaca Key (300 men)

3) PENSACOLA
The most important Gulf port still functioning on the entire US coast, Pensacola has become the hub of MilGov activities in the Gulf of Mexico theatre. While some parts of town were badly damaged by fires caused by post-nuke rioting, the city escaped much of the violence and insanity that devastated many other cities. Because of the fact that the city has survived in such good shape, there is a large sense that Pensacola was "spared by God" from this terrible war, and many civilians are very religious in a superstitious sort of way. In more secular terms, there is a strong sense of civic pride here, keeping things together and giving hope for the future. The city power remains on, though it is rationed to make the fuel last longer, and the city water supply is running, though again it is severely rationed (only on certain times and places). The local farm communities benefit from the presence of a functioning city and food is readily available, distributed from grocery stores by military trucks and sold in huge, sprawling markets that have popped up all over the city. Fishing provides a major source of food and the harbor is filled with fishing vessels from around the Gulf of Mexico. The landward approaches are heavily patrolled and barricaded to prevent Pensacola from being overwhelmed by refugees, but the safety of the city is drawing people like a magnet. Tens of thousands of people now languish in tent city camps along the Perdido River as overworked medical personnel try to prevent outbreaks of disease. The refugee camps are generally dirty, diseased, and officially quarantined by the military.
The Army: The main garrison force of the city is the MilGov 241st Infantry Regiment (1,500 men). This unit was formed in South Texas in early 1963 from local conscripts and volunteers from around the Brownsville area and led by a cadre of experienced NCOs and soldiers left behind from the South Texas-based 141st Infantry Regiment when that regiment and the 36th Infantry Division were moved north to the Dallas area in 1964. When the Mexicans invaded in May 1964, the Regiment fought a delaying retreat up the coast and was hastily evacuated from the port of Victoria and transferred to Pensacola by MilGov Command. The city had been protected by a mix of State Police and National Guardsmen, but the arrival of a Regiment of regular US Army troops was a welcome sight in Pensacola. The regimental commander, being the highest ranking officer in the city, took over command of the city's defenses and has improved them dramatically over the last five months. While they had to leave all their heavy weapons and vehicles behind them in Texas, they do have two former USMC M48A1 Patton tanks and several M101 105mm howitzers that were aboard the amphibious ships that picked them up from Texas and as such became theirs. City air assets are fairly strong, having been collected from the various military bases in the Pensacola area (Saufley, Whiting and Corry Naval Auxiliary Air Stations, as well as Elgin AFB) and moved to Pensacola NAS. There are numerous fixed-wing aircraft but only a few helicopters are still flying as of 1964, including four late model UH-1 helicopter gunships and a pair of UH-19 Chickasaw transport helicopters. These are only used at the discretion of the regimental commander as fuel is critically short and must be shared with the few remaining US Navy helicopters in the area. As word of the growing power of the marauder leader Rollins in Mobile has reached the city, long-range patrols have been sent out to see what is the truth. It is just a matter of time before a major confrontation happens.
The Navy: The remains of the US Navy's Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico Fleets are now based here. As with other US Navy concentrations, scarce fuel and poor maintenance keep the combined flotilla from being as effective as it could be. Operational vessels here include:

Essex class aircraft carrier
CVS-36 Antietam 1
Des Moines class heavy cruiser
CA-148 Newport News 2
Charles F. Adams class destroyer
DDG-10 Sampson 3
Dealey class escort
DE-1030 Joseph K. Taussig
Catskill class amphibious vehicle transport
LSV-3 Osage
Crescent City class attack transport
APA-31 Monrovia 4
Landing Ship Tank
LST-344 Blanco County
Troopship
AP-69 Elizabeth C. Stanton
Freighter
Marfield Cadiz 5
Foxtrot class submarine
B-4 6
One Coast Guard cutter
One LCT
Four LCM lighters

Notes:
1) The centerpiece of the naval base has got to be the USS Antietam, which was the resident flight training carrier at Pensacola when the war broke out. For a while there was talk of refitting her as an active carrier and sending her to sea, but the horrible economic situation and the loss of command and control meant that she never left port. Today she is still anchored in the harbor, serving as the command post for the naval flotilla Admiral. While technically seaworthy, the carrier has barely a skeleton crew aboard and her fuel tanks have long ago been drained to keep smaller, more important ships running. The Antietam's operational airpower is now limited to helicopters--one UH-1 Huey, one OH-13 Sioux (former USMC), two UH-19 Chicksaw, and three H-25 Mules. Fuel for these craft is husbanded and has to be shared with the Army.
2) The Newport News was the ComSecFleet flagship for the Cuban blockade in 1962.
3) During her long tour of duty, the Sampson has sunk or helped sink three destroyers, two frigates, and four submarines and has been damaged heavily several times. While most of the Atlantic Fleet has been sunk, the Sampson has stayed on almost continually service even while being repaired. Her missile launchers have all been destroyed and the missile ammo bays are now were the ship's stills are set up.
4) The transport Monrovia has seen better days. She was part of the Cuban landing fleet and was badly damaged in the tactical nuclear strikes launched by the defending Cubans. She has since been somewhat repaired, and it is joked that patches and primer paint are all that is keeping her afloat.
5) The Marfield Cadiz is a large 30,000 ton oil tanker that once operated out of New Orleans. On the way to port with empty holds when the bombs hit, she was relocated to Pensacola on directions from the US Coast Guard. Since then she has been converted into a troop carrier and floating air field, and it is this ship that brought the 241st Regiment here from Texas. She has two additional LCM amphibious landing boats on her deck and a large crane so she doesn't have to rely on port facilities to offload. A helicopter deck has been constructed forward of the superstructure and she has been heavily sandbagged and equipped with numerous AA guns and .50cal HMGs.
6) This Russian Foxtrot class diesel attack submarine was part of Russia's blockade-busting effort in 1962, and surrendered to US forces in late November of that year. She was brought to Pensacola and the crew interned.

Veterans: Pensacola was one of the places that the mangled remnants of the Cuban landing force was brought back to following LeMay's dangerous gamble to pull them off the radioactive beaches. Radiation and battle wounds have claimed most of them, but there are a number of Marines and Airborne Rangers still living in the city. Some are active parts of the city military structure, others are just trying to forget about the horrors of a nuclear battlefield.

4) THE PANHANDLE
This swampy coastal strip is hot, muggy and filled with mosquitoes, diseases and skeletons. Many towns have been deserted and looted and bamboo and palmetto is quickly overgrowing the deserted towns, choking off yards and side streets. Smallpox is spreading slowly through the area from Georgia recently.
Elgin Air Force Base: To the east of Pensacola is the former Air Force Proving Ground Center at Elgin AFB, now home to just a few stragglers, the bulk of the personnel having moved into Pensacola. As well, the surviving assets of the 4135th Strategic Wing of B-52s have been moved to Pensacola NAS. The few USAF and Army remnants left are fighting each other (somehow arranged by NA spies from down in Saint Petersburg) over control of the facilities.
Apalachicola: Controlled by a band of modern-day highwaymen run by the crazy "King Barnum & Bailey III" with the aid of a court of circus freaks. Ruthless and evil, they are choking the thin trickle of communication and trade between the local towns.
Tallahassee: While almost completely razed by rioters and refugees, the state capital still supports a small population. The community militia is led by a half-dozen cadet rangers of the Florida State University ROTC department and Colonel Murphy, the crazed former Professor of Military Science at FSU. They have been making a home-built automatic weapon called the "Gator Gun".

5) NORTHERN FLORIDA
Gainesville: Plundered by looters in 1962 and waves of marauders in 1963, little remains of Gainesville but deserted houses, skeletons and burnt-out cars. The surviving population has recently been enslaved by it's own militia. The militia run a forced labor camp used to extract salvageable goods from the Gainesville ruins and sells/trades all the goods and keeps the proceeds themselves.
Starke: To the east of Gainesville, the farmers and tradesmen here have formed a militia group for mutual defense. They are 250 strong and armed with everything from black powder muskets (which are manufactured in Starke), bolt-action rifles, shotguns and pistols. They also have a .30 cal LMG and a 105mm mortar with limited rounds, both looted from the nearby remains of Camp Blanding Military Reservation.
Yankeetown: Along the coast north of Tampa, Yankeetown is now home to a repaired radio station broadcasting to most of Florida. The station is run by an ex-Navy SEAL and is very pro-MilGov and anti-New America in his broadcasts. It is a mystery how he is still alive.

6) JACKSONVILLE
The war: The night of October 28, 1962 was the end of the world for Jacksonville. While not nuked itself, two fell close enough to convince the already panicked citizens that the next had Jacksonville painted on it's nosecone. Thanks to a severe storm systems passing south-north over the state on that night, the Orlando strike 140 miles to the south and the Cape Canaveral strike just 110 miles southeast both dumped the majority of their deadly fallout onto Jacksonville. As radiation counters went off the charts and the fear skyrocketed, the city melted in upon itself in a carnival of violence, looting and burning as the population fled inland. Local authorities tried to stop the tide but were soon swamped, even the city's several military installations were hard-pressed to keep out the masses of people looking for safety and revenge.
Today: Mostly abandoned during the chaos, this once fine port city has fallen into ruin and is a shadow of its former self, down to less than 10,000 residents. The city is split in two by the Saint Johns River and these survivors are mostly concentrated in the eastern half of the city. The western half is mostly just occupied by scavengers who rummage through the deserted neighborhoods in search of food. The harbor is filled with half-sunken freighters and rusting hulks.
The military holds on: The US Navy evacuated the Mayport Naval Base and it's associated airbases in late 1962 when it became obvious that getting food and supplies to the men there was going to be a problem with the condition of the city and northern Florida in general. By that time, the enclave up the coast at Savannah was forming and the majority of the men and material were moved up there. While the still-inhabited parts of the city are protected by the remnants of the local police force, the real muscle in Jacksonville is the US Army. The garrison is the 300 Florida National Guardsmen of the 51st Infantry Division augmented with some other left-behind sailors and soldiers. Mostly support and headquarters personnel, they are the remains of the division that were not shipped to Europe in 1962 to be crushed. The unit is tasked with guarding the city's port facilities in case the military command decides to return one day. With the probable cost of cleaning up and securing Jacksonville being out of reach, and Savannah being so close, it might be several more years before the effort is even made. The 51st ID was badly shattered during the nuclear attacks and the chaos and is now just a shadow of it's former self, being reduced to little more than a regiment at this point. The men still here are pretty much on their own, left to feed themselves and only very infrequently receiving any visits from the military enclaves further up the coast.
Cleo and the Sea Lord: In early September of this year, the city (and all of Florida) was horribly smacked by Hurricane Dora, a Category 4 storm that came in suddenly and without much warning now that the hurricane warning system has long been broken down. Large parts of the city were flooded as the storm surge washed over the already damaged seawalls. Cleo caught the garrison unprepared, and killed numerous soldiers and ruined much of what they had worked to rebuild in the naval base compound. Perhaps because of the strain of this disaster, or maybe something else, the 51st ID's commander, who always took his assignment very seriously, has gone a bit batty. He has declared himself both the "Sea Lord of Jacksonville" and "Admiral Poseidon" and has become even more driven to protect his men and "his city". He has ordered a cache of magnetic and contact mines that were found at the base to be strung out across the mouth of the Saint John's River, blocking access to the city. He says it is to keep huge mutant fish out of his city. His men, realizing the folly of it, are stalling in setting the mines.

7) CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE CENTER
Due to a combination of rushed launching, computer failure at the launch site, and technological glitches, the Russian SS-7 ICBM that was supposed to destroy the satellite launch center on October 28, 1962 missed the mark wide. The 6 megaton warhead splashed down in the Atlantic ten miles to the northeast, and exploded some 100 feet underwater. The resulting nuclear-induced tidal wave and wide-spread radioactive seawater contamination were dreadful and deadly and thousands died in areas along the northern Florida coast. The hit occurred just as a huge storm front was rolling in from the south and most of the radioactive fallout was carried away from the center. Physical damage to the Space Center itself was minimal--the hit was far enough away that it merely caused a three-foot high wave to wash across the coastal areas. The EMP, however, fried almost all the sensitive electronics and circuitry in the center, rendering it useless. Much of the population fled to the surrounding areas, fearful of residual radiation and the risk of a second strike. Nearby Patrick Air Force Base, at the time a major staging area for the war on Cuba, was hastily abandoned as well, its squadrons going south to Homestead and Key West. Today the space complex is mostly abandoned save for a few scavengers. Why no one has come here from either government is a mystery, but with all the hardware fried and rusting, any effort to get it back into operation would be prohibitively expensive. The most obvious features of the complex are the three large launch structures, all badly damaged by salt water exposure over the last two years. The two oldest launch towers have started to crumble, but the newest (and never used) H-11 launch tower and assembly building still tower majestically over the beautiful coastline, perched on a plateau overlooking the water. A new warlord with some 25 lightly-armed marauders from central Florida is currently moving into the region looking for loot.

8) CENTRAL FLORIDA
Outside of noted survivor communities, central Florida is largely a dangerous wasteland, with the nuclear strikes on Orlando and Tampa being the centers of two great wheels of destruction.
Daytona Beach: Damaged severely by overpressure tide flooding from the offshore strike, vast portions of the city are heavily rubbled and gutted. The harbor is filled with abandoned hulks of sunken yachts, tugs and channel boats piled haphazardly by wind and weather. Docks are tumbledown and rotten. Yet, large pockets of untouched and heavily defended industrial park facilities remain. The ruined city center is held by the "Downtowners" gang, with their superior firepower looted from the county police riot squad armory.
Melbourne: Mostly empty but surprisingly intact, Melbourne is a fishing town living on smoked and salted fish and truck gardens. The militia is feared more by reputation than actual military prowess.
Orlando: McCoy Air Force Base in the southeastern portion of the city was nuked by a 3 megaton SS-6 ground burst on October 28, 1962. The arc of destruction from the ensuing firestorms extends eight miles into the city, loosely in a line from University Boulevard and Rollins College in the north to Orlo Vista to the northwest and to nearly Highway 435 in the west. Despite this, the northern suburbs retained a rather large population throughout the chaos. In 1963, civic leaders in Orlando made an open invitation for any military forces to come in and stop marauders from the cities of Saint Petersburg and Jacksonville and the Seminoles from ravaging the city during their time of rebuilding. The 648th Engineer Battalion (720 men and four M31 Lee ARVs), who were forced out of Statesboro, Georgia area by a virulent plague outbreak and headed south to Florida without contacting anyone, came to their aid. The battalion, originally a Georgia National Guard unit, is nominally still under federal control, but in reality is an independent group taking orders only from their patrons in the Orlando municipal government. They have now formed a loose “corridor” up central Florida, running from Orlando north to Gainesville (trading with the militia there) and Ocala, to a northern post at the ruins of Camp Blanding National Guard Training Area. The 648th is engaged in various reconstruction tasks along the corridor and their efforts have increased trade and travel between the cities of northern Florida. The New America cell in Saint Petersburg has began to infiltrate agents into Orlando in recent months and the city is rightfully concerned. They have an F-86F Sabre that has been used extensively as a ground support aircraft against New America guerillas operating in the swamps to the west. For a while Orlando was trading convoys with the Georgia National Guard unit in Valdosta but those have stopped lately as rumors of small pox in Valdosta have scared off the caravans.
Lakeland: Home of 7,000 people harassed by a number of bands of thugs. The worst of these gangs, led by "Rob Roy", is some 150 strong and holds the National Guard Armory at the north edge of town.
Winter Haven: Home of a survivor community centered on the old Beth Judea synagogue and its charismatic reformist rabbi Joshua Goldstine. Goldstine has led his community through the bad times and keeps marauders out through a combination of faith in the Lord and dirty tricks learned as a former commando in the Israeli army. The militia calls itself the "South Pasadena Jewish Self-Defense League" and is really a motley group of people, most of whom are neither Jewish nor from the town originally. They are woefully under-armed, but resourceful. Due to their religious orientation, along with their location on the route to Orlando, the defenders of Winter Haven know that it is just a matter of time before the New Americans in Saint Petersburg come after them.

9) TAMPA BAY
Tampa: On the night of October 28, 1962, a Russian SS-4 ballistic missile was launched from a complex near Havana, Cuba. The 1.2 megaton warhead exploded over MacDill Air Force Base at the end of the Tampa peninsula. The only thing that saved the entire Tampa Bay area from mass extinction was the mischance of a premature detonation, some 2,000 feet too high for the full effects of the blast to be felt. Still, 160,000 people died that first night, countless more over the next week. Every single building on the peninsula has been scoured off the earth and the zone of total destruction extends across the whole Tampa peninsula north to State Route 580, all along the east coast of Tampa Bay as far south as Apollo Beach, and a good chunk of eastern Saint Petersburg. In the dead center of MacDill's main runway is "Ground Zero Lake", a perfectly circular crater filled with radioactive rain water and burning oil from underground spillage. Few bridges in the area are still standing. The double bridge connecting the mainland with Davis Island has collapsed, and the bridges spanning the Hillsborough River at Buffalo and Hillsborough Avenues are both down. Damage to the Busch Gardens amusement park was light, but many of the animals escaped, including white tigers, leopards and lions that to this day still pose threats to travelers in northeast Tampa. Today, Tampa is a virtual ghost town with a total population of about 200 or 300 individuals scattered over the entire city. There still remains much untapped salvage in the city but little motivation to try.
Saint Petersburg: Damaged by the Tampa strike, this city has become one of the largest and most organized enclaves of New America in the nation, as well as one of the best run and efficient city left in America. The NA cell here had long-standing influence with the city leadership and the nuclear war gave them an opportunity to take over, setting in motion plans that had been drawn up decades ago. Having absorbed many refugees from around the state, the total population of Saint Petersburg is now nearly 70,000. While the majority of them claim to be pro-NA, in reality most people will pledge allegiance to anyone who feeds them and keeps the wolves at bay. True, hardcore New American supporters probably make up only 2% of the population, but that 2% have all the influence and the firepower. Despite their rhetoric, the NA has worked hard to rebuild the city and plant enough crops to keep it running, using much refugee labor to accomplish their plans. There are numerous public works projects ongoing, including opening up power plants burning trash, with fuel for the operations coming from the acres of rubble and ruin in the eastern part of the city. The NA militia forces are well-armed and more than able to keep the city safe from outside and inside threats. They are vicious in their dealings with minorities and dissidents, but in general the population recognizes the need for strong men with guns in this day and age.
Bradenton: Across the bay from Saint Pete, Bradenton is now occupied by Seminoles who killed off the remaining inhabitants in 1963. It is through Bradenton that the NA funnel weapons to the Seminoles (see below).
Sarasota: Destroyed by thousands of rampaging refugees in 1962 and then swamped out by a surprise Gulf hurricane in 1963, Sarasota was almost completely deserted by 1964. Occasional Seminole patrols from Bradenton prowl the ruins searching for the dregs of salvage and it insure that it stays deserted.

10) SOUTHERN FLORIDA
The Everglades: Home to a growing population of Seminole Indian communities. Many have returned to the "old ways" and shun outsiders, others are just trying to survive, but a large number of them have become increasingly militant and anti-white. The Seminoles were the only American Indian tribe that successfully fought the US Army to a standstill in the last century, and pride in that runs deep in the older generations. Once the bombs started to fall and the white man's world died, the leaders of the tribe decided the time was right to reclaim what they had lost. In the past two years they have raided and burned numerous towns and even struck as far a field as Bradenton and Orlando, while mostly staying closer to home. They total around 13,000 strong in small settlements scattered throughout the swamps. As they usually trade with outsiders only after several meetings, all but the most diligent of traders are generally discouraged from trying. The New American enclave in the Tampa Bay area has a unique deal with the Seminoles--they provide guns to the Indians in exchange for them thinning out the refugee population in south Florida for them. Not everyone in the tribe agrees with the policy of militant racism, but the ones with the power and guns do and so dissent is kept to a minimum.
Naples: Right on the edge of Seminole territory, Naples exists on the edge of disaster every day. Before the collapse Naples boasted the highest per capita net worth of anywhere in the United States, and was one of the major retirement sites on the East Coast. These two features combined with a close proximity to the prime fishing grounds of the eastern Gulf and a good natural harbor have helped the city to survive and even prosper. The collapse brought severe hardship to the Naples area, particularly in the health care industry. Before the collapse, Naples had long been a haven for senior citizens looking for a comfortable place to retire--causing a massive build-up of the medical care infrastructure, which was targeted at long term and specialized needs. With the nuclear exchange came the first shortages: trained personnel, then supplies and people started to die. More died in the months following the breakdown, and within six months almost all special care patients had passed away, leaving the population healthier. Today, life in the city is fairly comfortable, if nervous. It is much like San Francisco during the turn of the century, without all the horses. The laws are relaxed and generally follow the “do onto others as you would have them do onto you,” theory. There is a police force that keeps the peace and mans the watch towers that guard the eastern approaches to the city. They have had several skirmishes with the Miccossukee and Seminole Indian tribes recently.
Fort Myers: Home to some 15,000 survivors. They are primarily fishers, but have spread out into surrounding fields to plant crops to supplement the fishing and to provide alcohol fuel for their boats.

11) THE MIAMI STRIP
The war: On October 28, 1962, a Soviet Cuba-launched 1.2 megaton SS-4 nuclear missile targeted on the SAC dispersal base at Homestead Air Force Base south of Miami failed due to EMP interference and landed in the ocean well south of the city without detonating. The populace rioted and panicked anyway, fuelled by the proximity of the ground war in Cuba and the visible mushroom clouds over Orlando and Tampa. Miami was home to some 200,000 Hispanics in 1962, and many of them were outraged that the US government just nuked their homeland of Cuba. A similar backlash against them from white Americans and anti-military riots in the Little Havana area quickly mixed into a volatile mess and bloody street battles between the citizens tore the city apart.
Doing their best: Today, most of the metro area has been abandoned to the looters and gangs, and only a few northern and southern suburbs are inhabited. Large areas of the city are now empty, being retaken by the palmetto and mangrove trees. The state and local governments lack effective control over any part of the city south of Palm Beach. All of Dade County is in a permanent medical crisis and mosquito-borne diseases including malaria, typhoid, encephalitis, and dengue fever are rampant.
Gang rule: Most of central Miami is now home to over three dozen gangs with technology ranging from clubs and knives to firearms and motorcycles. They can often be found ranging throughout South Florida on raiding missions against settlements and farms. The gangs total around 5,000 all together. Major looming food shortages in the coming year will no doubt lead them to kill each other off and perhaps one day the city can recover.
Cleo: Much of that hope for the future was dashed by the fury of Hurricane Cleo, which slammed into South Florida in early September of this year. The Force 4 cyclone brought unprecedented devastation to the strip of cities from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, flooding many coastal areas under ten feet of salt water. Thousands died in the catastrophe, and most of the survivors fled north to higher ground.
Kendall: But not everything was abandoned. Parts of south Miami, spared the most devastating effects of the hurricane by distance from the storm's eye and a few extra feet of elevation, survived the disaster more or less intact. Hardy survivors are working to rebuild. The locals have taken to calling the town such colorful names as "End of the Earth" and " Ken-hell."
Palm Beach: Palm Beach is now the largest peaceful enclave in the Miami area. Protected from the hurricanes by the MacArthur Seawall and from the gangs by a large defense force, this city has survived quite well and is now home to some 55,000 people. So many refugees from further north have settled here that some call the city "New Jacksonville". In early 1964, the Palm Beach National Guard garrison, the 2nd Howitzer Battalion/265th Artillery Regiment (400 men), the last remnant of Florida's 48th Armored Division, which had done such a good job protecting the city, rejected the authority of the competing national governments and declared itself to be the "Central Florida Home Guards". They are currently most concerned with protecting the Florida Turnpike that runs northwest to Orlando, the main trade conduit for the city.
Fort Lauderdale: A ravaged ruin blasted by fire, hurricane, tornado and storm surge.

12) THE FLORIDA KEYS
Key West: During the night of October 28, 1962, Key West Naval Air Station (the command HQ for the Cuba quarantine) was the target of two Russian SS-4 ballistic missiles launched from Cuba, the first fired from that island at the continental USA. Both 1.2 megaton warheads hit the island but were both duds. The Soviet-built SS-4 was a faulty design, and many of them eventually turned out to be duds (see Mobile, Alabama). The Keys suffered many deaths from the fallout clouds from American nuclear strikes on Cuba, forcing operations at Key West NAS to be severely curtailed. A massive hurricane in the spring of 1963 nearly flattened the base and destroyed most every aircraft and vehicle still there. Worst of all, the US Highway 1 bridge was cut by the hurricane between Summerland Key and Ramrod Key, making travel from the Keys to the mainland nearly impossible. After that, the military completely abandoned the Keys, leaving it to the few surviving locals and fishermen. The city of Key West was renamed by the locals "Twicetown" for it's luck in being hit twice with dud nukes. The two SS-4 are still there to be seen, both on the edges of the city. The first is just a rusty cylinder of metal in an overgrown field north of the city. The other is still in the remains of the garage that it smashed into, scorched and welted but in some spots still painted olive drab. Despite it's danger, this nuke has become sort of a religious shrine for the superstitious natives, and they often bring it offerings of fish and trinkets. In the summer of 1964, a boat load of Israeli refugees landed on the Keys. Because most of them were black-skinned, they have had an easy time integrating into the population.
Vaca Key: The old abandoned Dolphin Research Center on Vaca Key is now home to the Cuban Fidel Castro Brigade (300 men). Led by General Juan Cordova, these men snuck up here from Cuba during the dark days of the winter of 1962 and have been consolidating a base deep within the complex's many buildings and fish pens. They are armed mostly with Russian made AK-47s and have one stolen US Army truck. They have their hands full eating and staying trained, but have big plans to liberate all of Florida for Cuba one day.