HURRICANE LEAVES FLORIDA ‘POWERLESS’
About 15 million people without power Water, sewage systems not operational 6 more dead
Miami, Sept. 12: Millions of Florida residents were without power on Tuesday as the remnants of Hurricane Irma spun northwest into the southeastern US, drenching the region and causing rivers to overflow.
Most of the Sunshine State appeared to have dodged forecasts of catastrophic damage despite dire early warnings.
But Irma’s overall death toll jumped to at least 40 after Cuba reported that 10 people had been killed there over the weekend.
Irma roared ashore as a powerful Category 4 hurricane when it hit the far southern Florida Keys on Sunday, tearing boats from their moorings, uprooting palm trees and downing power lines, after devastating a string of Caribbean islands.
By the time it hit the US mainland the storm had been downgraded, and by late Monday it had weakened further to a tropical depression.
Across the Caribbean, hard-hit island residents struggled to get back on their feet as Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States increased relief efforts.
French President Emmanuel Macron traeled to the region Tuesday to tour devastated French territories, joining the Dutch king who had arrived in his country’s Caribbean territories on Sunday.
In Florida, the damage in most cases were not as bad as feared.
“If this had been a Category 4 hurricane the whole scenario would have been completely different,” said Bob Lutz, a 62year-old business owner.
About 15 million people in Florida were without power, however, and Governor Rick Scott said the island chain known as the Keys had suffered widespread damage.
“It’s horrible what we saw,” Scott said after flying over the island chain aboard a Coast Guard helicopter.
He said the water, electricity and sewage systems in the Keys were non-operational, and that trailer parks had been “overturned.”
“We now go through the much longer phase, which is the recovery phase,” said Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “And believe me, folks, some of this is going to take a while, especially power restoration.”
Most Keys residents evacuated from the lowlying tourist archipelago, known for its fishing, scuba diving and boating, before Irma struck.
The storm felled trees and left debris and vehicles strewn across the streets.