Though damage from Hurricane Irma is extensive, property insurers are breathing a sigh of relief with the storm nowhere near as catastrophic as many had feared. Shares in insurance companies that had been hammered in the days leading up to the storm are surging Monday, the first day of trading since the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm.
Just because Hurricane Irma has left the state doesn’t mean that everything is back to normal in the Sunshine State. Take gasoline, for instance. It’s still hard for many Floridians to gas up, which is a major problem with so many people wanting to return to their homes.
Authorities sent an aircraft carrier and other Navy ships to Florida to help with search-and-rescue operations Monday as a flyover of the hurricane-battered Keys yielded what the governor said were scenes of devastation. “I just hope everyone survived,” Gov. Rick Scott said.
Telecommunications giant AT&T is giving another $1.4 million in relief toward “sustained recovery” efforts in Florida, Texas and the Caribbean after a pair of devastating hurricanes.
State and federal environmental regulators issued a blanket waiver on Monday for Florida electricity companies to violate clean air and water standards without penalty for the next two weeks.
Gov. Rick Scott says he flew over the Keys and saw a lot of flood damage and boats that had washed ashore.
The Florida Lottery announced Monday that daily drawings will resume and make-up drawings for all Lottery Draw games suspended because of Hurricane Irma will be conducted in sequence Tuesday “with full security and auditing measures in place.”