Hurricane Irma weakens, but still batters Florida; overall death toll in storm rises to 40

Death toll jumps to 40 as Cuba says 10 people killed over weekend Jacksonville orders evacuation

Mima, Sept. 11: Monster storm Irma, which ripped a deadly path through the Caribbean, started to weaken on Monday though it was still whipping parts of Florida with fearsome winds and rain leaving 6.2 million people without power.

The death toll jumped to at least 40 as Cuba said 10 people had been killed there over the weekend as the storm carved a path northward. The Cuban victims died from causes ranging from electrocution to drowning, building collapse and a balcony falling on a bus, authorities there said.

Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm early Monday as it spun northward through Florida, but forecasters warned of hazardous storm surges and “some wind gusts to near hurricane force”. Maximum sustained winds had decreased to 70 miles per hour as of 8.00 am (1200 GMT). Irma was about 105 miles northwest of Tampa on Florida’s west coast, and expected to cross into Georgia later on Monday.

US President Donald Trump said that his administration is marshalling full resources for the relief and rescue work. “I’d like to send our nation’s prayers to everyone in the path of hurricane Irma and to everyone suffering through the devastation of hurricane Harvey,” Mr Trump said while speaking at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon. “These are storms of catastrophic severity, and we are marshalling the full resources of the federal government to help our fellow Americans in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and all of those wonderful places states in harm's way.”

The city of Jacksonville in northeast Florida ordered urgent evacuations as record floods were set to rise even higher with the oncoming high tide. “If you are in Evacuation Zone A or B along the river you need to heed this warning and get out now,” the Jacksonville sheriff’s office said on its Facebook page referring to neighborhoods along the St Johns River which bisects the city.

“Historic flood levels already. Levels will continue to rise. Expect 4-6 feet above normal high tide levels. Very significant river flooding is coming.” and

— AFP, AP (Top) A damaged boat seen at the Dinner Key marina after Irma passed through the area in Miami, Florida, on Monday. The storm made landfall in the Florida Keys on Sunday. A car that flipped over on Cape Coral Parkway on Sunday.