FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - After Hurricane Irma hit, Florida Power and Light gave a self-imposed deadline to have power restored to the east coast by Tuesday night. However, by Wednesday morning, there were still residents without power.
As of Wednesday morning, 1,790 customers in Miami-Dade and 280 customers in Broward were without power.
For some, FPL efforts are still taking too long to reach them. The City of Coral Gables has issued a citation to FPL stating the company “… violated several sections of the City Code that are referenced in our official notice to the company. All fines imposed to FPL would be donated to charity for Hurricane Irma disaster relief.”
FPL released a statement in response to the citation, which read in part, “… frivolous lawsuits and ludicrous code violations that attempt to pressure us into providing preferential treatment for their City will not work. Our focus is on restoring power to all of our customers, and we will not be moved by self-entitled politicians who are looking for someone to blame for the City’s irresponsibly managed tree program.”
Residents at the Allington Towers in Hollywood were among those without power, Tuesday night.
The residents said FPL tried to turn on the power on Monday after the storm, but only the lobby and a few other parts of the building came on, not the apartments.
Most of the Allington Towers residents are elderly, and one of them has already been hospitalized.
“It’s very hot, very humid,” said Vince Gitto, whose apartment was without power.
“How would you like to sleep in your car?” said Lois Brody, another Allington Towers resident without power. “Please help us. I mean, we’re begging you, because this is tragic. Please help us.”
Residents in a Miami Gardens neighborhood experienced similar frustrations.
“This community is without power,” said one woman. “My neighbor across the street has a little baby. There’s a man on the corner — he’s 86, and he lives alone. So, you know, we need our power. We pay taxes too.”
Some areas have gotten power, but for individual homeowners like Evelen Hodge, the wait for power continues. “I’ve been calling everyday. Matter fact, the day after the storm I started calling and informing them of my special situation — and everyday I get, ‘We’ll be there tomorrow, we’ll be there tomorrow, we’ll be there tomorrow,'” she said. “When tomorrow comes, I called again this morning: ‘by the end of day.’ I’ve been getting that everyday.”
A falling tree pulled the main line off of Hodge’s home, disconnecting her from the rest of the grid. This means that when FPL responded to her area, the rest of the homes around her had power, but not hers.
Another South Florida resident, Mayra Salazar, is also at her wits end.
“My mother is 72 years old in there, and if she dies of heat, I will be suing the [expletive] out of FPL and anyone under the sun who I can,” Salazar said. “I will be writing my congressman and my senator and the governor — and I hope that President Trump and Ivanka see this. ”
Over 2 million people in South Florida were left without power after Hurricane Irma hit Sept. 10.
Although FPL did not meet their deadline, they are working to have power restored to both Miami-Dade and Broward counties by Wednesday night.
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