Pensacola, Fla. ? Hurricane Dennis left behind uprooted trees, downed power lines and shredded roofs but also far less pain than feared, authorities said Monday, as they sorted through the damage and began the cleaning up.

About 225,000 houses remained without power in the region as officials said most customers will have electricity again within a week but a few may have to wait a few days longer.

For a community still reeling from the destruction caused by deadly Hurricane Ivan last September, there was a distinct sense of relief.

“It’s nice to stand up here and say you had a Category 3 hurricane and you’re pleased,” said George Touart, the Escambia County administrator.

Dennis churned ashore near here Sunday afternoon with 120-mph winds and then plowed into Alabama and Mississippi, drenching parts of both states but causing only minor damage.

US Coast Guard Capt. James Bjostad, left, and FEMA director Mike Brown look out over a pier damaged by Hurricane Dennis Monday in Navarre Beach, Florida.

At least three deaths have been linked to the storm. Escambia County officials said a person was killed in a traffic accident in Pensacola Sunday afternoon shortly after the storm blew through, and a man appeared to have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning after operating a generator inside his home. The Associated Press reported that a 3-year-old boy was killed when his father ran him over as the family tried to evacuate their home in DeFuniak Springs.

In Pensacola, dark traffic lights and tree branches across most roads were the worst of what remained. In Pace, a town of 7,500 a few miles east of Pensacola, however, Dennis snapped off the top halves of large trees or simply mowed them down altogether.

Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said agency officials were helping to assess the structural integrity of damaged homes and businesses and taking applications for financial assistance from residents.

Dennis rushed ashore with a tighter, more compact eye and greater velocity than Ivan, causing it to pack a geographically smaller punch over a shorter time frame than its more deadly predecessor, officials said.