- A handful of Tallahassee residents are still without power following a recent winter storm.
- The rare event swept through the Panhandle and parts of the Big Bend.
- WFSU News spoke with one woman who says she’s been in the dark for a week and is now living out of a hotel.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Samantha McCoy’s home is on the northwest side of Tallahassee in the Westwood community. She says she heard a loud bang outside early last Wednesday morning.
“Four o’clock in the morning, we had all this snow and sleet," explained McCoy. "My partner rushed upstairs and said something happened outside...we heard a loud rumble.”
It was the sound of the free-standing car port outside McCoy’s townhouse crashing down onto several parked cars including her own.
It also took out the electricity meters nearby.
The City says the damage to the power meters presented an electrical fire hazard. As a result, officials killed the power to the meters that operate five Westwood units.
The decision has left residents living off generators and for McCoy—spending money on hotels.
“Some of us have pets that need to go to a hotel to make sure they stay warm," said McCoy. "Since we been out of power for so long, I just went to our dark condo and tossed all the freezer and fridge groceries.”
The city says all storm related power outages have been restored on its end but for McCoy the wait continues. That’s because before the city can turn her power back on, her condo’s HOA must repair the damaged electric meters.
She hopes that will happen sooner rather than later, as her hotel bill steadily increases.
