(task) Hurricane Irma: Officials urge health care checks after nursing home deaths - CNN

SFLRS, USRS, NYRS, NYRNs, NCRRS

4 cover

electricity, deaths, vulnerability, liability

Electric utilities are responsible to use the safeguard health and life. FPL, LIPA, PEPCO are other utilities are responsible for deaths where they have created barriers to distributed energy with smart inverters that could enable life and health critical equipment to function during and after emergencies in which the central grid is not able to provide electrical service, where distributed energy resources would. I think this should be one of our central arguments.

Mike

Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H.

Coordinator
Global Health Response and Resilience Alliance

Chairman
Oviar GRS -- Energy

Executive Director
Health Initiatives Foundation, Inc.

Cell: 202-468-7899
Michael.D.McDonald@mac.com <mailto:Michael.D.McDonald@mac.com>

http://resiliencesystem.org

>
> http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/13/us/hurricane-irma-aftermath/index.html <http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/13/us/hurricane-irma-aftermath/index.html>
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> Hurricane Irma: Officials urge health care checks after nursing home deaths
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> The nursing home deaths were reported Wednesday in Hollywood three days after Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys and left millions statewide without power.
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> The fatalities should spur everyone to check up on senior citizens, who are among the most vulnerable to Florida's stifling heat, exacerbated by power outages that might extend into next week, Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy said.
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> "I'm going to aggressively demand answers on how his tragic event took place," Gov. Rick Scott said. "... I am also asking available first responders to immediately check in with the health care facilities in their area to make sure nursing homes and assisted living facilities are able to keep their residents safe."
>
>
> People sit in the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center as Irma approached Miami on Saturday, September 9.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Floodwaters surround vehicles in Callahan, Florida, on Tuesday, September 12. Hurricane Irma has left a trail of destruction across the Southeast after making landfall in the Florida Keys.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Jose Encarnacion pulls a chicken from a cage as he gathers belongings from his flooded house in Bonita Springs, Florida, on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Joseph Dupuis III stacks boxes off the floor in his parents' water-logged apartment in Jacksonville, Florida, on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Motorists in Estero, Florida, fill gas cans September 12, moments before police shut the station down because of a curfew.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Mike Gilbert and his daughter Brooke embrace in front of a relative's destroyed condominium building in Islamorada in the Florida Keys on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Members of the US Coast Guard operate in floodwaters during rescue missions in Hastings, Florida, on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Waist-deep in floodwater, Shelly Hughes gets her first look at the inside of her camper in Arcadia, Florida, on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a house slides into the Atlantic Ocean in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Monday, September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Richard Shieldhouse maneuvers through storm-surge floodwaters in Jacksonville on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Mario Valentine sits in his badly damaged home in Immokalee, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Boats are partially submerged in Key Largo, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Chris Stokes works in the mud as he helps clean up damage to his father's convenience store in Everglades City, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Ashley Tomberg drags a tree branch from the roof of a neighbor's house in Gainesville, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Floodwaters inundate a car in Jacksonville on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A crocodile appears at the Dinner Key Marina in Miami on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> John Duke tries to salvage his flooded vehicle in Jacksonville on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A van sits in a sinkhole that opened up in Winter Springs, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> People check out floodwaters at Jacksonville's Memorial Park on September 11.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Kelly McClenthen and her boyfriend, Daniel Harrison, walk through floodwaters in Bonita Springs on September 11.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A truck drives through a flooded street in Key Largo on September 11.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A man walks by damage in Palm Shores, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Catharine Taylor Woods cleans up a broken awning outside her building in Wauchula, Florida, on September 11.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> The roof of a home is damaged in Marco Island, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Rick Freedman checks damage to his neighbor's home in Marco Island on September 11.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Boats are partially submerged in a marina in downtown Miami on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> People step out of their flooded home in Fort Myers, Florida, on September 11.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A felled tree blocks a street in downtown Miami on September 11.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Irma damaged this gas station roof in Bonita Springs.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Michele Snelling sleeps on couch cushions next to her 4-month-old daughter, Lauryn, at a middle school in St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 11. The school was filled with evacuees.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Hotel guests navigate a dark stairwell after they lost power in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> People in Cape Coral, Florida, tend to a car that flipped over during Hurricane Irma on Sunday, September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A manatee lies stranded September 10 after waters receded during Irma's approach in Manatee County, Florida.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> High winds split this large tree in half in Fort Lauderdale.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> An American flag is torn as Irma passes through Naples, Florida, on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A sheriff's deputy walks through a shelter in Naples after the power went out on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A police officer walks over debris after a tornado touched down in Palm Bay, Florida, on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Yaya Lopez holds her fiance, Howard Lopez, while they sleep in a middle-school hallway in St. Petersburg on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Geoff Rutland, a local volunteer from Crossing Jordan Church, helps other residents get ice from a vending machine in Tampa, Florida, on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> PJ Pike checks on his boat and one belonging to a friend in Fort Myers. Both were sitting in mud at their moorings due to an unusually low tide on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> People walk past a building in Miami where the roof was blown off by Hurricane Irma on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> An abandoned car sits in floodwaters during a storm surge in Fort Lauderdale on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Fallen trees block a parking lot in Fort Lauderdale on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Sailboats moored near Watson Island ride out the winds and waves on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Members of the Blinckman family use their personal devices in a stairwell utility closet as Hurricane Irma went over Key West, Florida, on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Evacuees watch the weather from a shelter in Naples on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Heavy winds and rain blow through Miami on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Seidel fights fierce winds and flooded streets while reporting in Miami on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A man records the gusty winds going through downtown Miami on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A tree lies on a pickup truck after being knocked down by the high winds in Miami on September 10.
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> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Hotel guests eat breakfast by lamplight after the Courtyard Marriott was left without power in Fort Lauderdale on September 10.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Part of this crane tower collapsed in Miami on September 10.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Floodwaters surround vehicles in Callahan, Florida, on Tuesday, September 12. Hurricane Irma has left a trail of destruction across the Southeast after making landfall in the Florida Keys.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Jose Encarnacion pulls a chicken from a cage as he gathers belongings from his flooded house in Bonita Springs, Florida, on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Joseph Dupuis III stacks boxes off the floor in his parents' water-logged apartment in Jacksonville, Florida, on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Motorists in Estero, Florida, fill gas cans September 12, moments before police shut the station down because of a curfew.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Mike Gilbert and his daughter Brooke embrace in front of a relative's destroyed condominium building in Islamorada in the Florida Keys on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Members of the US Coast Guard operate in floodwaters during rescue missions in Hastings, Florida, on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Waist-deep in floodwater, Shelly Hughes gets her first look at the inside of her camper in Arcadia, Florida, on September 12.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a house slides into the Atlantic Ocean in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Monday, September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Richard Shieldhouse maneuvers through storm-surge floodwaters in Jacksonville on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Mario Valentine sits in his badly damaged home in Immokalee, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Boats are partially submerged in Key Largo, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Chris Stokes works in the mud as he helps clean up damage to his father's convenience store in Everglades City, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Ashley Tomberg drags a tree branch from the roof of a neighbor's house in Gainesville, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Floodwaters inundate a car in Jacksonville on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A crocodile appears at the Dinner Key Marina in Miami on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> John Duke tries to salvage his flooded vehicle in Jacksonville on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A van sits in a sinkhole that opened up in Winter Springs, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> People check out floodwaters at Jacksonville's Memorial Park on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Kelly McClenthen and her boyfriend, Daniel Harrison, walk through floodwaters in Bonita Springs on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A truck drives through a flooded street in Key Largo on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> A man walks by damage in Palm Shores, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Catharine Taylor Woods cleans up a broken awning outside her building in Wauchula, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> The roof of a home is damaged in Marco Island, Florida, on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Rick Freedman checks damage to his neighbor's home in Marco Island on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> Boats are partially submerged in a marina in downtown Miami on September 11.
>
> Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
> People step out of their flooded home in Fort Myers, Florida, on September 11.
> More than 3 million utility customers remain without power in Florida in simmering temperatures. It will be around 90 degrees for parts of central and southern Florida for the next several days, with humidity making the air feel like it's in the mid-90s.
>
> </2017/09/13/health/florida-nursing-home-deaths/index.html>
> The hurricane struck northern Caribbean islands last week, leaving at least 44 people dead, before it smashed into the US mainland over the weekend, with at least 33 storm-related deaths reported.
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> The latter figure doesn't include the nursing home deaths, which police said were under investigation.
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> The lower Keys were particularly hard hit, with first responders Wednesday still searching through wreckage.
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> In Big Pine Key, houses were reduced to splinters. Boats were scattered across land -- a reminder that streets were like rivers for hours.
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> Richard Tabacco stayed with his family on the island through the storm. They are all OK -- he got a malfunctioning generator to work at his damaged home Tuesday -- but he warns residents who evacuated to stay away.
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> "There's nothing here," he told CNN's Chris Cuomo, who accompanied an urban search-and-rescue team, on Wednesday. "There's no gas, there's no water. There's no stores. There's no electricity. There's no cell phone service. Just stay away for about two weeks.
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> "Let the first responders ... do their job, and y'all can come back later."
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> President Donald Trump is set to make his first visit to the region Thursday to see the devastation. "I will be traveling to Florida tomorrow to meet with our great Coast Guard, FEMA and many of the brave first responders & others," he announced on Twitter.
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> I will be traveling to Florida tomorrow to meet with our great Coast Guard, FEMA and many of the brave first responders & others.
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> — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 7:34 AM - Sep 13, 2017 <https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/907930425657626624>
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> Customers who lost electricity on Florida's eastern side will likely have it restored by this weekend because fewer electrical poles came down than in other parts of the state, Florida Power & Light Co. says.
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> Shelly Hughes gets a first look at her flooded camper at a campground Tuesday in Arcadia, Florida.
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> Those on the west coast, where Hurricane Irma made landfall, will likely have power restored by September 22, according to the company.
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> It says it's focusing first on restoring power at schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.
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> "It takes a long time to not only to clear the pathways to get power crews in, but also fixing the infrastructure and making sure you have the right equipment" in the areas that need fixing, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said Wednesday.
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> Outages throughout the Southeast
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> Massive power outages still crippled much of the Southeast on Wednesday. Those without power, according to utilities and authorities:
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> -- FLORIDA: About 3.8 million customers as of Wednesday morning. They include homes, organizations and businesses.
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> -- GEORGIA: About 560,000 customers as of Wednesday morning.
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> -- SOUTH CAROLINA: About 68,000 customers had no power as of Wednesday morning.
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> -- NORTH CAROLINA: About 31,000 customers don't have electricity as of Wednesday morning.
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> -- ALABAMA: About 1,400 customers as of Tuesday night.
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> In affected areas with a weak phone connection? Get the text-only version of top stories <https://lite.cnn.io/en>
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> Keys, other areas cut off
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>
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> Jose Encarnacion pulls a chicken from a cage at his flooded home Tuesday in Bonita Springs, Florida.
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> Irma cut off communication in entire neighborhoods and communities, particularly on Cudjoe Key, where the storm made landfall Sunday, and many of the other Keys. Authorities and a few residents were finally able to reach some of the island chain Tuesday.
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> What they found was devastating: Based on initial estimates, 25% of the houses there have been destroyed, FEMA said. An additional 65% suffered major damage.
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> "Basically, every house in the Keys was impacted some way," said Long, the FEMA administrator.
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> But Key West City Manager Jim Scholl told CNN the FEMA estimates might be high. The damage in his city and in his neighborhood on Cudjoe Key didn't match those dire numbers, he said.
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> One of the challenges in Key West is moving debris out of roadways and fixing the water infrastructure. The area is under a boil water advisory.
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> "That's why we don't want people to, en masse, return down here to the Keys. And we certainly understand the frustration," Scholl said. "Everyone wants to get down here and check out their homes."
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> But it will be a long wait for those sifting through what's left of their homes, especially in the oppressive heat and high humidity.
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> Cuomo: Nothing left untouched in the Keys 01:30
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> Impact on nine states
>
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> Irma, which stretched 650 miles from east to west, has pummeled at least nine states -- deluging streets, knocking over trees and destroying homes along the way.
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>
> At least 33 storm-related deaths have already been reported on the US mainland, according to local officials:
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> -- Florida has reported 26 deaths, officials have said. That includes eight people who died in Monroe County, which includes the Keys, because of and/or during Hurricane Irma, county spokeswoman Cammy Clark said.
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> -- South Carolina had four deaths. That includes a 57-year-old man struck by a tree limb during the storm in Calhoun Falls; a 54-year-old man who died in a mobile home because of carbon monoxide poisoning while a generator was running; and a man who died in a car crash in Richland County. Authorities also reported the death of a driver with a Florida license plate, but they gave no details.
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> -- Georgia had three deaths. A 62-year-old man who was on his roof was killed in Worth County, which experienced wind gusts of 69 mph. Another man was killed in Sandy Springs when a tree fell on his house. And a woman was killed when a tree struck her vehicle in Cumming.
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> Flights, hospitals will be back online
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> While the Keys have an exhaustive recovery ahead, signs of normalcy have begun popping up elsewhere in Florida.
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> Some airports reopened with limited operations Tuesday <http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/11/news/companies/florida-airports-irma/index.html>.
> And Florida Hospital, a health provider in the state, said it would reopen many of its affected facilities on Tuesday or Wednesday.
>
> How to help Hurricane Irma victims <http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/world/iyw-help-for-hurricane-irma-victims/index.html>
> This is the first time on record that the continental United States has had two Category 4 hurricane landfalls in the same year. Last month, Hurricane Harvey devastated much of coastal Texas and killed more than 70 people <http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/08/us/hurricane-harvey-recovery/index.html>.
> CNN's Miguel Marquez, Chris Boyette, Tina Burnside, Rene Marsh, Darran Simon, and Keith Allen contributed to this report.