Depending on the humidity where you live, a swamp cooler might be an alternate solution. They work great here in arrid Colorado. But since you mentioned "tropical storm", something tells me that "arrid" does not describe your location! Swamp coolers are cheaper than air conditioning, need much less power, but really crank the humidy up as they cool you. I would not use one through the air conditioning/heating ductwork in my house because of the mold possibilities. But a standalone portable one, for emergency use, sure!