Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria wreaked havoc on parts of the United States and the Caribbean. But even those who were fortunate enough to avoid catastrophic damage were not spared the aftermath of the herculean storms. After huddling in the dark for hours with water and flashlights, victims of the hurricane found themselves in dire circumstances after the storm had passed.
When disaster looms, there’s a lot that people can do to prepare. But, unfortunately, people without powerful generators cannot adequately prepare for an extended loss of power. Many find themselves without basic services on which they have come to depend. In Florida, the loss of power proved detrimental to one nursing home where, after air conditioners failed to work, eight elderly residents died. On a much less serious level, power loss and intermittent power outages resulted in many frustrated consumers who went without television or internet for weeks.
In the aftermath of a natural disaster, when consumers have received all or most of their power back, receiving financial compensation from their service providers poses another challenge. Service providers are all trying to work with consumers to decrease their burden. Comcast is offering a one-time credit for the cable, phone and internet services that were lost during and after Hurricane Irma.
Like with all communications with service providers, it’s never that easy. CenturyLink, FPL and LCEC are all trying to lessen the burden on customers by suspending late fees and collections from consumers impacted by Irma. Learn more about service provider policies in the aftermath of the hurricane here: NBC-2: Cable and Internet Restoration After Irma. If you're still experiencing outages, you can check live outage status using an interactive map.
Services like USOutage.com to determine if your service provider is actually experiencing an outage or if it’s just you.
The real cost of natural disasters is extremely hard to measure. Although communities try to put a dollar value on disasters, it rarely incorporates the emotional toll that individuals go through during, and in the aftermath, of such an event. Loss of service is hard enough; dealing with service providers who are overwhelmed by consumer needs can be its own challenge.