Living in the dark after Hurricane Irma

Millions are without power in the south.

ByABC News
September 12, 2017, 12:29 PM

— -- An estimated 8 million to 9 million people are without power after Hurricane Irma ripped through the state of Florida. And it could take weeks before customers have electricity again, according to FEMA.

PHOTO: Adam Davis and Travis Warford, technical information specialists with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Urban Search and Rescue team, in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 10, 2017.
Adam Davis and Travis Warford, technical information specialists with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Urban Search and Rescue team, California Task Force 1, wait at the Orange County Convention Center for Hurricane Irma to reach their area, in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 10, 2017.
Sam Hodgson/The New York Times/Redux

Nearly 11,000 utility workers are joining forces so those suffering in the dark will have light. Crews with Con Edison, some traveling all the way from Illinois, arrived in Florida to assist with the massive effort. For those in the hardest hit areas, the next few weeks will be challenging. But there will be light again.

A man walks back home in the darkness as many areas of Miami still without electricity after Hurricane Irma strikes Florida, in Little Havana, Miami, Fla., Sept. 11, 2017.
Carlos Barria/Reuters

People who are without power have been told to avoid electrified water, downed power lines and other hazards.

PHOTO: People line up at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Naples, Fla., Sept. 11, 2017.
People line up at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Naples, Fla., Sept. 11, 2017. This store is one of very few that have opened in Naples today after Hurricane Irma hit Florida, and like almost all of south Florida, is without electricity.
PHOTO: Lisa Borruso plays pool using a headlamp as the power remains out following Hurricane Irma at Gators' Crossroads in Naples, Fla., Sept. 11, 2017.
Lisa Borruso plays pool using a headlamp as the power remains out following Hurricane Irma at Gators' Crossroads in Naples, Fla., Sept. 11, 2017. Statewide, an estimated 13 million people, or two-thirds of Florida's population, remained without power.
David Goldman/AP
Guests at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla., Sept. 10, 2017, after the electricity has gone out.
Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/Polaris
Members of the Pinto family gather on the ground floor of a hotel in Fort Myers, Fla., Sept. 10, 2017.

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