Irma carves out path of destruction
parts of the shoreline, stranding two manatees that had to be dragged back out to sea by rescuers.
Power was cut to more than three million Florida homes and businesses, making it impossible for many to check on their loved ones and the damage to their property.
Authorities last night warned of likely deaths and a “humanitarian crisis” in the Florida Keys, where the 640km-wide storm blew ashore on Sunday morning (local time). The Keys were pounded by brutal cat-
We’re not doing too good, our street front is a river. Kiwi Caryn Haynes in Fort Lauderdale
egory 4-force winds and floodwaters were hip-deep.
Kiwis caught in the devastating hurricane were sheltering as best they could.
Sue Hamer took cover in a makeshift bunker as the eye of the storm passed her city. Violent winds howled outside and slammed into her home’s steel window shutters.
Another Kiwi, Caryn Haynes, hunkered down with friends in Fort Lauderdale.
Backyards in her neighbourhood had been swamped by an adjacent canal while the front road was inundated by flooding.
“We’re not doing too good,” she said. “Our street front is a river.”
Haynes was riding out the storm with neighbours, playing cards and looking after her retriever, Kiwi.
Another New Zealander, Anna Wilding, said the situation was diabolical with coconuts raining down on the roof like cannonballs.