Federal workers have put tarps on 135,000 roofs - from the air, they are visible everywhere - but even that figure probably does not begin to reflect the total number of homes in some way.

After a week of picking through debris, chopping trees, putting tarps on roofs and fighting for sleep through sweltering nights alive with the whine of mosquitoes, the people of Hardee County are happily embracing the glories of air-conditioning.

"I talked to Age Carting directly, and they put tarps on the windows," Mr. Walters said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set up the "Blue Roof Program" of putting blue tarps over damaged roofs.

Yet while others in town wondered how, and if, they could rebuild their lives, the Lowerys put tarps on roofs and cleaned spoiled food from refrigerators.

"They put tarps in the yard, and men in white suits kept going in and out," she said.