With no power or A/C, some people still feeling Frances

. - Of the 2.8 million Florida customers who lost power during hurricane Frances last weekend, more than 2 million have already gotten their power back.

"This is more than double the number of customers restored within 14 days after Hurricane Charley," boast Florida Power & Light (FPL) officials in a press release.

But while such statistics sound impressive, they have little meaning for Dan Samartino. Mr. Samartino resides in a Hobe Sound nursing home that has been without power (and air conditioning) since electricity was knocked out by hurricane Frances last weekend.

Such statistics also mean little to Martin County water and sewer officials who are scrambling around the clock to keep the county's sewage system from overflowing. Of 250 pumping stations, roughly 150 are shut down for lack of power. To prevent the system from backing up, officials are shuttling portable gas-powered generators from one blacked-out pumping station to another.

Although the winds of hurricane Frances diminished days ago, the storm's lingering impact is everywhere on display with damaged structures, downed trees, and swamped boats. But the most widely shared disruption is the loss of electricity.

In a state with a large population of senior citizens, widespread power outages involve more than just spoiled food in a refrigerator and missed opportunities to watch favorite TV. For elderly residents it can pose a significant threat.

In September, it is not uncommon for daytime temperatures in Florida to reach into the 90s with high humidity.

In Martin County, Health Department officials discovered this week that only one of the county's 11 nursing homes was operating with fully restored power. A few were equipped with generators large enough to operate their air conditioning systems. Some had generators able to provide a limited level of power but not enough to cool the residents. Two nursing homes were operating with no power.

"The Health Department has gone to nursing homes and done an environmental assessment," says Jackie Williams of the Martin County Emergency Operations Center. "They are specifically concerned about heat."

At the Manors at Hobe Sound nursing home on US 1, windows were open, as was the front door, in an attempt to catch a breeze. Some residents confined to beds had been rolled out into a central hallway.

"I don't think it's so comfortable," said Rose Samartino after visiting her husband, Dan. "They have some patients out in the hall - some who are in bad shape."

But as she speaks, help is apparently on the way. A large tractor-trailer is parked in front of the building carrying a generator large enough to restore the nursing home's air-conditioning system.

Page: 1 | 2