Just three weeks after Hurricane Charley leveled the interior of the Floridian peninsula, Hurricane Frances brought a weekend of torrential rainfall and destructive winds to southeast Florida. The Associated Press reported yesterday that Frances has caused at least seven deaths in Florida, adding to at least two when the storm battered the Bahamas. The scene in the Sunshine State is one of downed power lines and parts of buildings strewn across the landscape.

Nearly six million people remain without power, though The Palm Beach Post reported yesterday that power has been restored to approximately 47,000 residents of Palm Beach County.

Although Hurricane Frances may have had no visible impact on Brandeis, students from South Florida and those with family living there have been occupied with the storm and its aftermath.

"I've been nervous and freaking out since last Tuesday," said Annie Rosenberg '07, a resident of Melbourne, approximately 55 miles southeast of Orlando in Brevard County. "That's when it hit me that [Hurricane Frances] is hitting my house."

"It's always been a pretty scary thing when a hurricane hits the Florida peninsula," said Jacob Baime '08, a resident of Tampa.

Students affected by Frances have been calling their homes or relatives in Florida frequently, trying to learn about any new developments. Hurricanes typically cause a surge in telephone use, and Baime said that while he frequently called his family, he made regular use of the Internet as a source of information.

Some students said that they have had a difficult time adjusting to school life while concerned about their families over 1,000 miles away.

"I've been so preoccupied worrying about my 89-year-old grandmother who lives by herself in Delray [Beach]," said Hayley Levenson '06. "She's without power and clean water, and it's really hard to reach her with the phone lines down. Thankfully, she's moved in with my aunt and uncle who live five minutes away, and I know now that she's doing OK."

Krystel Ariel '06 from Palm Beach County said that she "watched TV for about 24 hours nonstop," trying to find out if her family was safe. Similarly, Rosenberg called home every hour trying to reach her family, but usually without much luck.

"We got hit pretty hard," said Rosenberg. "All cell phone towers are down. There's pretty much no way of getting in touch with anyone."

Three weeks ago, Hurricane Charley hit some of the same places as Frances did, especially the area south of Orlando, killing 27 people and causing an estimated $7.4 billion in damage, according to the Associated Press.

"You expect hurricanes in Florida, but two major hurricanes is almost unheard of," Baime said.

"I've felt disbelief in the fact that Florida has been hit twice in the past three weeks," said Ariel Plotkin '06, whose grandparents live in Port St. Lucie, Miami Beach and Naples. "That is a lot of damage and possibly a lot of lives."

Hadar Sayfan '07, a resident of Longwood, remembers how during Hurricane Charley her father only bought milk.

"I think he regretted the decision when they lost power...[for Frances] my parents cooked all the meat and bought a lot of ice to keep things fresh," Sayfan said.

Similarly, Baime recalled scenes of packed supermarkets where basic supplies such as bottled water are sold out.

Baime, who remembers the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, is used to dealing with hurricanes. Certified in community hurricane preparedness by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he is educated in making decisions when a hurricane threatens a community.

"Having this knowledge makes me a little more secure in knowing the steps necessary to take in preserving life and property," Baime said. "It gives me a little extra insight into knowing what to do when a hurricane threatens the community."

Although he still worries about his family, Baime is not letting this latest storm completely sidetrack him from his day-to-day activities at Brandeis.

As Frances, now downgraded to a tropical storm, loses momentum, students like Rosenberg said they look forward to getting things back to normal.

With minimal damage from flooding and a couple of fallen trees, Rosenberg said that she hopes her family is able to recover quickly from the disaster, although facing two major hurricanes in less than three weeks is still an uneasy notion.

"There's not much to be worried about now because it's already over and everyone's safe that I know of...I'm relieved that it's over, but I'm still in shock. This has never happened before," she said.