The Florida problem was flooding and it was mostly in the pan handle. They did have a perfect storm for a rain event. The eye stalled over water in the crook of the pan handle. Normally the rain would cool the water surface enough to "put the storm out" but where it was, there was a steady stream of hot water coming in from the Gulf stream so the storm was just a pump, taking warm Gulf water up and dumping it on land. Once the weather systems shifted a little east and it got to move over land the pump stopped.
They did get several feet of rain in a day or so.
As for the no name storm up north. they simply are not prepared for 80-90 mph wind gusts. All of those old growth trees just split taking out the power lines. We drove through 200 miles of downed trees from the mountains to the shore.
The strange thing is those people have more power problems up there than we do down here in hurricane country but it is because the PoCos are not as aggressive about keeping the trees trimmed. I doubt the kind of butchering of trees they do here would fly up there. FPL comes down the street here with a bucket truck and an Asplundh grinder whacking anything that encroaches on the right of way or even looks like it might.
The "disaster" thing is just to get access to federal money and to allow the governor to use national guard assets.
