Hurricane Irma: eye of storm hits Florida
Hurricane Irma has given Florida a coast-to-coast pummeling with winds swamping homes and boats, knocking out power to millions.
Hurricane Irma has given Florida a coast-to-coast pummeling with winds up to 200kmh, swamping homes and boats, knocking out power to millions and toppling massive construction cranes over the Miami skyline.
The 640-kilometre wide storm blew ashore in the morning in the mostly cleared-out Florida Keys, then began a slow march up the state’s west coast, its punishing winds extending clear across to Miami and West Palm Beach on the Atlantic side.
Irma was expected to hit the heavily populated Tampa-St. Petersburg area, though in a much-weakened state. While it arrived in Florida a Category 4 hurricane, by nightfall it was down to a Category 2 with winds of 177kmh.
It has been difficult to determine the extent of damage Hurricane Irma caused in the Florida Keys, where communication has been difficult and authorities are warning boaters and drivers to stay away.
How the day unfolded
9.10am:
— NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) September 10, 2017
8.50am: Crane fears
Two giant construction cranes have already crashed down in Miami and, with another 25 cranes on construction sites of 50 floors or higher, the situation is serios, say authorities.
Since it became clear that Irma was Florida-bound, authorities have urged residents to obey evacuation orders and to not take refuge in buildings near the cranes.
The mega-structures are designed to withstand hurricanes with winds of 233 kilometres (145 per hour.
8.35am: Water levels rising
The National Hurricane Centre reports water levels are rising rapidly in Naples from Hurricane Irma’s storm surge. A federal tide gauge in Naples reported a two metre rise of water in just 90 minutes. A wind gust of 229 kph was recorded at the Naples Municipal Airport as the storm kept its top sustained wind speed of 175 kph. Irma has picked up forward speed and is moving inland at 22 kph and its eye is about 40 kilometres south southeast of Fort Myers.
8.15am:
Downtown Miami looks like a watery war zone. This is more than 100 miles from #Irma's eye pic.twitter.com/F71QYi0Vd2
— Brian L Kahn (@blkahn) September 10, 2017
7.50am:
#Irma will bring life-threatening wind and storm surge to the FL Keys and much of central and western FL tonight and Monday pic.twitter.com/OglCcC3OEL
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 10, 2017
7.35am:
See a satellite view of Hurricane #Irma moving in on Florida, seen over the last 24-hours. Watch & get the latest: https://t.co/KkkefZu5ap pic.twitter.com/kSGh9HPHqk
— NASA (@NASA) September 10, 2017
7.30am: Hurricane Irma now Cat Two
Hurricane Irma has weakened to a Category 2 storm, technically losing its major hurricane status, after making landfall in southwestern Florida. The National Hurricane Centre said Irma’s winds were at 177 kph, just below major hurricane status.
7.15am: Trump worried about ‘big monster’
President Donald Trump has called Hurricane Irma “some big monster” as it batters the Florida coast. “The bad news is that this is some big monster,” Trump said.. “Right now, we are worried about lives, not cost. I hope there aren’t too many people in the path,” he said. “You don’t want to be in that path.”
Trump owns a resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where he has often travelled during his presidency, as well as three golf courses in the state. “We’re going to Florida very soon,” he added.
7.03am: Don’t chase the storm ...
Now the amateur storm chasers in helmets are stuck in downtown Miami. @wsvn #HurrcaneIrma pic.twitter.com/3mJkhkGW6B
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) September 10, 2017
6.55am: Crane fears
In Miami, driving rains flooded the business district while powerful wind gusts toppled two large cranes from buildings.
Hurricane Irma created spin-off tornadoes across the south of the state, with one of them destroying six mobile homes, although no-one was injured.
High winds are impeding Miami authorities’ ability to reach the cranes, and authorities are urging people to avoid the areas.
Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso says the approximately two-dozen other cranes in the city are still upright and built to withstand significant wind gusts.
The tower cranes working on construction sites throughout the city were a concern ahead of Irma. Moving the massive equipment, weighing up to 13,600 kilograms, is a slow process that would have taken about two weeks, according to city officials.
6.46am:
Winds continue gusting to 60-70 mph across the Keys as the eye of Irma approaches Naples pic.twitter.com/J33Fmg1oEg
— NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) September 10, 2017
6.40am: Water will flood back
More than 400 shelters have opened across the state housing more than 75,000 people. Those who chose to stay in their houses no longer have an option of escape as the winds made it too dangerous to travel by road.
“There is probably no safe place to be, I am concerned about southwest Florida,” said Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
“You can’t hide from the water, that’s our biggest fear.”
Authorities say the expected storm surges could provide the greatest danger to life and have warned everyone to stay away from the coast during the storm.
In Tampa, which is expected to be among the hardest hit cities, the storm caused water levels to receded sharply, leaving boats grounded, but the water will flood back in the form of a storm surge once the eye of the hurricane passes.
6.30am:
— Marco Island PD (@MarcoIslandPD) September 10, 2017
6.22am: Power strike
Some of the numbers concerning those affected by Irma are staggering.
- More than 2.1 million customers have lost power in Florida
- Duke Energy, the dominant utility in the northern half of Florida, has about 13,000 outages
- FPL spokesman Rob Gould says an estimated 3.4 million homes and businesses will lose power once the worst of Irma reaches the Florida mainland
6.15am: Tornado warnings
Tornado Warning continues for Boca Raton FL, Boynton Beach FL, Delray Beach FL until 4:30 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/XWWbJYB2pS
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) September 10, 2017
6.12am: How the water levels are rising
Water levels beginning to rise in Naples. Will rise rapidly in Marco Island & Naples after passage of eye. MOVE AWAY FROM THE WATER. #IRMA pic.twitter.com/zXgsBooDYA
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 10, 2017
6.10am: Eye of hurricane hits Naples
The eye of Hurricane Irma has hit Naples, Florida, and continues to cause destruction over a wide swath of South Florida. The National Hurricane Centre said Irma had winds of 195km/h and was centred 30 kilometres south of Naples.
6am: In video - surge flooding
5.45am: Many streets underwater
Irma struck as a Category 4 but has weakened to a Category 3 with still-fearsome 195kmh winds and heavy rain. A storm surge of more than three metres of water was recorded in part of the Keys, and similar flooding was expected on the mainland.
There were no immediate confirmed reports of any deaths in Florida, on top of 24 people killed during the storm’s destructive trek across the Caribbean.
While the projected track showed Irma raking the state’s Gulf Coast, forecasters warned that the entire state — including the Miami metropolitan area of 6 million people — was in danger because of the sheer size of the storm. Nearly 7 million people in the Southeast were warned to evacuate, including 6.4 million in Florida alone.
With agencies
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