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Three days after Hurricane Charley ripped through Orlando, and power is still out to hundreds of thousands of customers. Progress Energy says it could be as long as two weeks before all power is restored, and even as I write this there are convoys of repair crews from other parts of the country streaming down I-95 to come to Florida's aid.
My son's school still does not have power, and neither does the high school my ex-wife teaches at. There are at least three high schools here in Orange County that were designated emergency shelters on Friday, and as of today they still have thousands of people staying there because their homes are uninhabitable. At this point the school district is guessing that school will resume on Wednesday, but that is only a guess at this point and nobody is really counting on it.
There is also a severe gasoline shortage here. Many gas stations are in areas that still have no power, and obviously cannot operate their pumps. Other stations may have power, but sustained damage from the storm and once again cannot operate their pumps. Of the gas stations that are operating, many have completely run out of gas, or are down to only the highest premium gas. Not three hundred yards from my apartment entrance I just drove past a gas station a few minutes ago that has cars lined up a half mile down the street. It's the same all up and down US 192, and we are one of the fortunate areas.
There is also a critical shortage of ice. Homes that are left without power are watching their food spoil, with no way to preserve it. Despite warnings from the state against profiteering, it is not unusual to see places selling a bag of ice for $5, which four days ago they would have sold for a buck and change.
I heard a news story this morning about a house up in Winter Park, only about twenty miles away. A family of four with no power to the house, so they were running a generator to keep the refrigerator operating. The four of them went to bed last night, and this morning the father and son did not wake up -- dead from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The property damage around here primarily consists of downed trees, destroyed billboards, flattened road signs, blown out store signage, knocked over fences... in other words lots of damage and debris, but very few homes or buildings with real structural damage. We count ourselves extremely lucky, particularly when we look to our neighbors to the south and west like Punta Gorda. This is easily the worst storm to hit Central Florida in over 40 years, and it is only by the merest chance that our home was five miles to the west of the storm's path.
My son's school still does not have power, and neither does the high school my ex-wife teaches at. There are at least three high schools here in Orange County that were designated emergency shelters on Friday, and as of today they still have thousands of people staying there because their homes are uninhabitable. At this point the school district is guessing that school will resume on Wednesday, but that is only a guess at this point and nobody is really counting on it.
There is also a severe gasoline shortage here. Many gas stations are in areas that still have no power, and obviously cannot operate their pumps. Other stations may have power, but sustained damage from the storm and once again cannot operate their pumps. Of the gas stations that are operating, many have completely run out of gas, or are down to only the highest premium gas. Not three hundred yards from my apartment entrance I just drove past a gas station a few minutes ago that has cars lined up a half mile down the street. It's the same all up and down US 192, and we are one of the fortunate areas.
There is also a critical shortage of ice. Homes that are left without power are watching their food spoil, with no way to preserve it. Despite warnings from the state against profiteering, it is not unusual to see places selling a bag of ice for $5, which four days ago they would have sold for a buck and change.
I heard a news story this morning about a house up in Winter Park, only about twenty miles away. A family of four with no power to the house, so they were running a generator to keep the refrigerator operating. The four of them went to bed last night, and this morning the father and son did not wake up -- dead from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The property damage around here primarily consists of downed trees, destroyed billboards, flattened road signs, blown out store signage, knocked over fences... in other words lots of damage and debris, but very few homes or buildings with real structural damage. We count ourselves extremely lucky, particularly when we look to our neighbors to the south and west like Punta Gorda. This is easily the worst storm to hit Central Florida in over 40 years, and it is only by the merest chance that our home was five miles to the west of the storm's path.