Miami streets are flooded and power is knocked out to more than 1.6 million homes and businesses.
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Downgraded to a tropical storm early on Monday, Irma had ranked as one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes.
“Our goal is don’t put any more lives at risk”, he said, adding that the current major threat is flooding in the northern part of the state.
Miami, was spared the brunt of the storm but was still battered.
The storm “seriously” damaged the center of the island with winds up to 256 kilometers (159 miles) per hour, according to Cuban state media. “Although most of it should be diminishing around 4 a.m., we can still expect to see, especially in the higher elevations, the highest winds overnight”.
Hurricane Irma has weakened to a Category 2 storm, technically losing its major hurricane status, after making landfall in southwestern Florida. In other parts of the island chain, the closure of United States 1, a major artery that connects the islands with the mainland, was a prime concern.
Phil Keating reported from Islamorada, Florida, revealing the devastation that Keys residents are returning to after evacuating last week. The cranes that the city didn’t have enough time to take down – it would take about two weeks – spun in circles; windows broke; debris flew.
Cliff Hartman was coming home from his 24-hour shift as a security guard and was eager to get back to his family after riding out the storm at work.
“The vast majority of Alabamians are only going to be affected by thunderstorm-like wind and rain conditions with some possible flash flooding”, Ivey said. This was just after it had intensified into a Category 5 storm, and the day before it reached peak strength.
The fourth victim of the storm was a man in Monroe County who lost control of his vehicle, which was carrying a generator, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said, as cited by ABC news.
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“Irma has officially passed and this is what she left”, said Michala Laufle, who rode out Irma in the Keys. He said the company has a workforce of 17,000 people in utility crews drawn from about 30 states.
