USA: Especially for Seniors, Wilma Leaves Burden

Many don't have power for lifesaving equipment, enough food or working elevators MIAMI (The Baltimore Sun, Associated Press), October 29, 2005: Mary Gaiter has high blood pressure, bursitis, arthritis, asthma and a leaky heart valve. "You name it, I got it," the 75-year-old widow says. This week, Gaiter's biggest problem is Wilma. The hurricane left her without power to run the oxygen she needs 24 hours a day, and Gaiter, who lives in a 12-story public housing tower for low-income senior citizens, was down to her last few portable oxygen unitsyesterday. Wilma placed an especially heavy burden on South Florida's many thousands of elderly residents. Some do not have electricity to operate lifesaving equipment; others are running low on food. The elevators do not work, and they are too frail to walk downstairs to get something to eat. Like Gaiter, her neighbor Lourene Mack, 76, had to rely on a portable oxygen tank, and her battery-powered wheelchair was in need of recharging. "I'm on my last three dots right now," Mack said. "We need help in this building." Four days after Wilma struck, more than 3 million people remained without electricity in Florida. While there was still plenty of anxiety and frustration, the recovery quickened as the gradual restoration of electricity eased shortages of gas, water, ice and food. "We've made really good progress," Gov. Jeb Bush said. Exasperating lines remained at gas stations, but more of them were open. Oil companies provided stores with generators, and the state's biggest utility, Florida Power & Light, focused on restoring electricity to gas stations and supermarkets. FPL said 47 percent of its customers who lost service had regained power, but service remained out in almost three-quarters of heavily populated Broward and Palm Beach counties. Officials said it could take until Thanksgiving week to restore all service. The weather has been mercifully mild and dry since Wilma. But the heat and humidity are expected to rise in the next few days, making air conditioning necessary. "If it happened in July," said Mavis Easley, 69, who lives in Gaiter's building, "you would have had a lot of dead folks in here." Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat, wrote to FPL asking the company to add senior citizen enclaves, like the area's many large seniors-only condo communities, to the list of priority places for power restoration. "We've got these seniors calling every single day that are desperate to get their power back on," said Lale Mamaux, Wexler's spokeswoman. For many elderly residents, there was no relief. The elevator was out at a three-story complex in suburban Fort Lauderdale, stranding residents unable to use the stairs. Hyman Tepper, 81, walked 3 1/2 miles to and from a grocery store that had little food. "I've been eating pretzels and water," said Tepper, a retired watchmaker and jeweler at Tiffany's in New York. "That's all I had." Neighbor Irving Schwab, who normally uses a wheelchair, was forced to walk down two flights of stairs to go to a safer apartment. "There was no choice," said his wife, Dorothy. "He wasn't going to slide down the banister." Ethal and Morris Feuerstein, both in their 80s, were in an apartment with a collapsed bedroom roof. They warmed food using two small candles. Downstairs neighbors Norma Overbay, 76, and her husband, Tom, 71, tried to help others. Using a two-burner propane stove, Norma Overbay made coffee and heated whatever food people brought her: salmon, chicken, duck, beef stew, a mix of sweet potatoes and peas. "We're in this together," she said. The Baltimore Sun Copyright © 2005