Irma leaves 4 million without power in Florida
TAMPA (AP) — A massive but weakened Hurricane Irma zeroed in on the Tampa Bay region early yesterday after hammering much of Florida with roof-ripping winds, gushing floodwaters and widespread power outages.
Irma continued its slog north along Florida’s western coast having blazed a path of unknown destruction.
With communication cut to some of the Florida Keys, where Irma made landfall on Sunday, and rough conditions persisting across the peninsula, many held their breath for what daylight might reveal.
The monster storm measured more than 640 kilometers wide, and its winds 210 kilometers per hour sucked the ocean water out of bays, swamped much of downtown Miami and toppled at least three constructions cranes — two over downtown Miami and one in Fort Lauderdale.
Some four million homes and businesses across the state lost power, and utility officials said it will take weeks to restore electricity to everyone.
On Sunday, Irma claimed its first US fatality — a man found dead in a pickup truck that had crashed into a tree in high winds in the town of Marathon, in the Florida Keys, local officials said.
Irma’s center was about 40 kilometers northeast of the heavily populated Tampa-St. Petersburg area early yesterday, though in a much-weakened state. While it arrived in Florida a Category 4 hurricane, it was down to a Category 1 with winds of 135 kilometer per hour.
Continued weakening was forecast and the US National Hurricane Center said Irma is expected to become a tropical storm over northern Florida or southern Georgia today.
Meanwhile, more than 160,000 people waited in shelters statewide.
In one of the largest US evacuations, nearly seven million people in the Southeast were warned to seek shelter elsewhere, including 6.4 million in Florida alone.
Upon leaving Florida, a weakened Irma is expected to push into Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and beyond. A tropical storm warning was issued for the first time ever in Atlanta, where many schools canceled classes because of the storm.
The Philippine government is currently monitoring the situation in areas hit by Hurricane Irma and is ready to assist affected Filipinos.
“We assure our fellow Filipinos that our embassy and consular staff will be on standby in case of any need,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a press briefing.
There are at least 200,000 Filipinos who live in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. — Alexis Romero