In the immediate aftermath, between 5,000 and 7,000 people across Florida were displaced and housed in temporary arrangements; three times as many people required dietary assistance. The city of Orlando coordinated with the Army Air Forces Tactical Center in debris cleanup operations. Assistance was also provided by line crews from Alabama and Georgia to restore power to the city. In response to the widespread citrus losses, the president of Gentile Bros. Co., a company with significant citrus operations in Florida, petitioned the Florida Citrus Commission to raise ceiling prices on citrus fruits sourced from the state. On behalf of citrus interests, U.S. Senator Claude Pepper of Florida wrote letters to the Office of Price Administration (OPA), the War Food Administration (WFA), and the War Production Board (WPB), requesting their assistance in surveying the damage and to consider both the price ceilings on citrus and restrictions on tin usage; relaxing tin restrictions would allow the salvaging of wind-torn fruits by canning them as juices. Pepper also asked the agencies to consider the price ceilings for vegetables. The Texas Agriculture Commissioner, James E. McDonald, asked Texas citrus growers to suspend shipments to allow Florida citrus growers to recover, echoing a similar gesture from Florida citrus growers following a hurricane in 1933. Officials from the OPA and WFA convened in Lakeland, Florida, on October 27 to discuss the calls to increase ceiling prices for citrus; Florida citrus growers contended that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's monthly crop report for October did not accurately reflect the losses caused by the hurricane and sent a delegation to raise the matter in Washington, D.C. in November. A temporary increase in ceiling prices on citrus fruits was eventually implemented for the state of Florida.