Millions of Florida residents are without power after Hurricane Irma devastated the state’s power grid, according to The Weather Channel.
Nearly 6 million customers are currently without electricity, comprising about 30 percent of Florida’s total population, according to the 2016 U.S. census.
Repairs to Florida’s grid could take weeks to complete, as utility companies warn residents to prepare for heavy damage reports from Irma. Utilities have invested billions into strengthening the power grid in recent years, but the improvements aren’t enough to resist Irma’s strong winds, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A storm of this magnitude an intensity will require us in many cases to completely rebuild out electric system from the ground up, particularly on the west coast,” Florida Power and Light Co. Vice President Rob Gould told the WSJ. “We anticipate that the restoration effort will be measured in weeks, not days.”
Utilities are pooling workers from more than two dozen states to help repair infrastructure in Florida, some which are coming from making repairs after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and dumped record amounts of rain, the WSJ reports.
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