Irma lashes Florida
January 12, 2025
By Expat Media
Consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquastaff reporter"]Hurricane slams into peninsula as a Category 2 storm; makes 2 landfalls
Hurricane Irma slammed into southwest Florida on Sunday morning as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.
The hurricane made two landfalls. The first one was in the Florida Keys on Sunday morning and the other in Marco Island on Sunday afternoon.
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 10, 2017The hurricane whipped the Florida Keys and the peninsula with powerful gusts, leaving behind a trail of debris of uprooted trees and signs posts and causing flash floods and storm surges that have turned streets in Floridan cities into rivers. Residents of high-rises in Miami took videos of inundated streets. One noted that the protective seawall is already gone. Officials warned residents in Florida who stayed in their homes despite a mandatory evacuation order of "dangerous storm surges" that could cover a single-level house. Florida officials have ordered the evacuation of millions of residents day before Irma was going to hit. It was the largest mass evacuation in US history. Irma's impact was widespread, according to a CNN report as the network said even areas that didn't get a direct hit from Irma saw flooding. The mayor of Riviera Beach, located on Florida's east coast, said winds ripped roofs off two apartment buildings, forcing rescuers to evacuate about 50 people from the complex Gusts also downed power lines and according to Florida utilities companies, more than three million are without power across the peninsula Coconuts from trees whipped by Irma's gusts have become dangerous projectiles, reports said. Two construction cranes in Miami have partially collapsed. The US National Hurricane Center warned of catastrophic storm surges. "The threat of catastrophic storm surge flooding is highest along the southwest coast of Florida, where 10 to 15 feet of inundation above ground level is expected. This is a life-threatening situation," the hurricane center said. In Naples, Florida, seawater levels rose fast as the National Hurricane Center said a tide gauge in the city measured a water level of 3.9 feet above mean higher high water, roughly nine-foot increase in just three hours.
Anout 7 hours ago: RT pic.twitter.com/bR6OJCscll — Kyle @Stormdesk (@Stormdesk) September 11, 2017Strong winds blowing from the northeast have pushed water out of shallow parts of bays and harbors in cities like Tampa and Port Charlotte, where the storm was expected to hit later Sunday night. CNN forecaster Judson Jones said "As soon as the wind shifts direction, the water will come back quickly and continue to move inland." North Miami Police rescued a mother and her four-month-old child from their flooded home, using an armored personnel carrier. Meanwhile, other two tornadoes touched down in Brevard County in Florida, destroying mobile homes. No one was injured. Before slamming into Florida, Irma killed 26 people in the Caribbean islands, leaving tropical paradises into wastelands. It also hit the northern coast of Cuba, destroying homes and buildings and flooding streets in cities and towns in the country. 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