WATERY HELL
Irma thrashes Florida At least 2 die in chaos Millions left in the dark
HURRICANE IRMA, the apocalyptic superstorm that creamed Cuba and much of the Caribbean, made landfall Sunday in Florida — twice — devastating the Keys and killing at least two people as it stomped the state.
The monster 400-mile-wide storm hit Florida’s mainland from the west, but it packed enough punch to leave nearly 7 million people without power, flood streets on the eastern coast and generate winds that toppled three construction cranes, two in Miami and the third in Fort Lauderdale.
Irma’s biggest impact wasn’t measured in wind speeds, power outages or storm size, but in loss of life. At least two people died in the Florida leg of the storm, including one man who fell from a ladder.
Irma hit land at 9:10 a.m. at Cudjoe Key as a Category 4 hurricane with punishing sustained winds of 130 mph. It pounded land with 10-foot storm surges. The second time it came ashore, at Marco Island in southwestern Florida around 3:30 p.m., it was a Category 3, and the storm was downgraded to Category 2 by the time it reached Tampa early Monday. “We were lying on the floor of the closet taking shelter during one of the tornado alerts during the night, and we were both crying,” Jorge Medina, 51, told the Sun-Sentinel from outside Fort Lauderdale about Saturday night. “Those winds were howling like nothing else I’ve heard since Andrew. And it’s been getting worse all day.”
The full impact on the Keys — where officials said a “humanitarian crisis” was underway — was not yet clear. Boats were wrecked. Roofs were torn off. Appliances and furniture floated in the murky water.
Footage from Miami showed waves whipping through downtown streets.
Florida utility officials said 7 million people were without power Sunday, according to USA Today.
“The bad news is that this is some big monster,” President Trump said after returning from Camp David, Md., where he monitored the storm. “Right now, we are worried about lives, not cost.”
The flood-prone, densely populated Tampa-St. Petersburg area dreaded Irma’s arrival and what devastation it would awaken to Monday.
“I hope there aren’t too many people in the path,” Trump said. “You don’t want to be in that path. I think the hard part is now beginning.”
The ginormous storm first made landfall on the U.S. east of Key West, according to the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center.
Reports of tornado like damage emerged from the Keys, where the total water level was 3 feet above normal.
Locals who remained there said roofs had been badly damaged. Storm surges were estimated to be up to 10 feet above ground level.
The Keys’ emergency management director, Martin Senterfitt, said the destruction had caused a “humanitarian crisis,” according to The Keynoter newspaper.
An airborne relief mission was on the way that included “disaster mortuary teams,” Senterfitt said.
But the full extent of the damage remained a mystery on the remote Florida islands, where about 30,000 people had followed orders to evacuate.
In a feat of horror and wonder, Irma’s fierce winds sucked Florida’s western waters out to sea, exposing helpless manatees and hundreds of yards of soggy seabed near Tampa and Sarasota. Crews rescued the manatees and returned them to deeper water.
As Irma waged its northward warpath Sunday, about 100 curious onlookers, some with selfie sticks, trekked 200 yards into what is normally 4 feet of ocean water in the Old Tampa Bay.
Forecasters warned gawkers to
stay clear of the exposed beach, warning that 10 to 15 feet of a “lifethreatening storm surge” could rush in at any moment, according to the U.S. Hurricane Center.
“Pray, pray for everybody in Florida,” Gov. Rick Scott said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Flamingos at zoos in Miami and Tampa had to be led to safety.
In Miami, some residents said they were wading in waist-level water.
Two construction cranes downtown collapsed, dangling perilously above flooded streets.
“Heard a loud crack, looked up and saw the crane snapped and falling,” Gideon Apé tweeted, along with a photo of one of the snapped crane that had taken out a chunk of a building still under construction.
It was too dangerous for authorities to secure the cranes. Another crane toppled in Fort Lauderdale. It caused no injuries.
As the worst of the storm approached, Miami-Dade police announced it would no longer respond to calls for services.
"Our officers are now sheltered for their safety," the department wrote on Twitter. "Stay indoors, DO NOT venture out!"
A Miami woman who went into labor was guided through delivery by phone when authorities couldn’t reach her in high winds and street flooding. Firefighters later took her to the hospital.
Further north on the state’s Atlantic Coast in Palm Bay, a tornado destroyed six mobile homes. And in Hardee County, a sheriff’s deputy crashed her car into one driven by a correction officer. Both died.
The deputy had been assisting at a hurricane evacuation shelter, officials said.
By 11 a.m. the eye of the storm had passed the Keys and continued north. Around 3:30 p.m. Irma — downgraded to a Category 3 storm — again made landfall on Marco Island near Naples, Fla.
An hour later it was downgraded again to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph as it lashed Naples. Statewide, an estimated 160,000 Floridians huddled in shelters.
“We are about to get punched in the face by this storm. We need to be prepared,” Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn tweeted.
Nearly 30 looters were arrested across the state, officials said. The thieves were preying on vacant homes and businesses that had been evacuated ahead of Hurricane Irma’s arrival.
A teenage burglar was shot near Fort Lauderdale as he tried to break into a home in the affluent suburb of Weston around 3 a.m. Sunday.
In Orlando, several homeowners were robbed at gunpoint by people posing as utility workers.
Vice President Pence, meanwhile, pledged federal help during a visit to FEMA’s Washington headquarters.
Military cargo planes were set to bring emergency supplies to the Keys on Monday.
“Wherever Hurricane Irma goes, we’ll be there first,” Pence said. “We’ll be there with resources and support, both to save lives and to help to recover and rebuild these states and these communities.”