Staff members at Westwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and firefighters from Fort Walton Beach Fire Department load Hurricane Irma evacuees, who had stayed at Westwood since last Saturday, onto a bus on Wednesday Sept. 13, 2017 to head back to the their facility in Mayo, Fla. (Nick Tomecek/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)
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HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on Hurricane Irma (all times local):
3 a.m.
Florida emergency workers have been urged to immediately check the welfare of those in nursing homes after eight people died in a scorching facility that lost its air conditioning during Hurricane Irma.
Victims Wednesday at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills were as old as 99, and there were worries the count could grow.
Sen. Bill Nelson called the deaths "inexcusable."
Elsewhere in South Florida, other alarms were sounded for older residents.
In Coral Gables, an apartment building was evacuated after authorities said its lack of power made it unsafe for elderly tenants.
And at the huge, 15,000-resident Century Village retirement community in Pembroke Pines, where there were also widespread outages, rescue workers went door to door in the 94-degree heat checking on residents and bringing ice, water and meals.
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Military personnel load water and supplies into helicopters for distribution at the Florida Keys Marathon Airport, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, in Marathon, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
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A trailer lies flipped on the ground in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma at Citrus Park in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News via AP)
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The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills as patients are evacuated after a loss of air conditioning due to Hurricane Irma on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
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A woman is transported from The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills as patients are evacuated after a loss of air conditioning due to Hurricane Irma on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 in Hollywood, Fla. Several patients at the sweltering nursing home died in Hurricane Irma's aftermath, authorities said Wednesday. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
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Hollywood Police chief Tomas Sanchez and Hollywood, Fla., Director of Public Affairs Raelin Storey, right, answer questions outside the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, in Hollywood, Fla. Several patients at the sweltering nursing home died in Hurricane Irma's aftermath, raising fears Wednesday about the safety of Florida's 4 million senior citizens amid widespread power outages that could go on for days. (John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
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Police surround the Rehabilitation Center in Hollywood Hills, Fla., which had no air conditioning after Hurricane Irma knocked out power, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. Several patients at the sweltering nursing home died in Hurricane Irma's aftermath, raising fears Wednesday about the safety of Florida's 4 million senior citizens amid widespread power outages that could go on for days. (John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
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Customers wait in line to buy generators as many residents are still without power three days after Hurricane Irma passed through in Fort Myers, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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A sign the Pena family put in a tree at the entrance of the Hills of Santa Fe neighborhood, in Gainesville, Tuesday Sept. 12, 2017. During Hurricane Irma water from the Meadowbrook Golf Course rushed over a hill behind the Pena's home and flooded the home with about six feet of water. After Hurricane Irma hit Gainesville, flooded homes and streets seem to be some of the biggest problems residents are dealing with. (Brad McClenny/The Gainsville Sun via AP)
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A worker is silhouetted against the setting sun as he works on a power line in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Marco Island, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Florida officials say crews are restoring power across the state, but 9.5 million people remain without electricity. State Emergency Management Center officials say they restored power to 1.7 million homes and businesses on Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Boats blown away from their docks sit in the marsh after Hurricane Irma on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, at St. Marys on the Georgia coast. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
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The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. Patients were evacuated after a loss of air conditioning due to Hurricane Irma. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
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