Downgraded Irma floods Florida
Power cuts leave millions in the dark and roofs ripped off homes as downgraded hurricane batters the US’s sunshine state
Downgraded to a tropical storm, Hurricane Irma flooded northern Florida cities with heavy rain and a high storm surge on Monday as it headed out of the state after cutting power to millions and ripping roofs off homes. Irma, initially ranked as one of the most powerful hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic, hit a wide swathe of Florida, first making landfall on the Florida Keys archipelago and coming ashore south of Naples and heading up the west coast. Now a tropical storm with winds of up to 110km/h, Irma headed up the Gulf Coast on Monday afternoon, the National Hurricane Centre said. The Cuban government reported on Monday that 10 people had been killed after Irma battered the island’s north coast with ferocious winds and 11m waves at the weekend. This raised the overall death toll from Irma’s rampage through the Caribbean to 38. The sheriff’s office in Jacksonville on Florida’s northeast coast reported that it was making a rescue in waist-deep water on Monday. The National Weathe...
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