Hurricane Irma is expected to keep its northward track through Florida and into Georgia. The now-Category 2 hurricane kept moving north during the overnight hours and at last check, Irma knocked out power for over three million people in Florida, with over 600-thousand alone reported in the Tampa region. Some of those outages could last for up to a week.
Meanwhile, Gulf Coast officials say the biggest worry is people thinking the worst has passed, and that’s why they’re urging people to stay away and inside until police have been able to assess the damage. Sadly, while “the worst” didn’t happen as feared, there have been tragedies. At press time, officials confirmed that three people are dead, including a Hardee County Sheriff's deputy and a Florida Department of Corrections sergeant. They were killed when their vehicles crashed into each other.
President Trump says he's monitoring Hurricane Irma closely. After a weekend at Camp David with his cabinet, Trump is back at the White House and he's addressing Hurricane Irma. He thanked FEMA and the US Coast Guard for their "amazing work right in the middle of the storm." Trump is calling the storm a "big monster," adding that it's the largest storm to hit Florida in years. Trump said he's not concerned about cost, but rather, is focusing on saving lives. He also said he'll be in Florida "very soon." The storm is began reaching northern Florida and southwest Georgia last night.
- It will be days before Florida's major airports are back in operation, and that means thousands of cancelled flights and hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers. Miami International Airport will be closed until at least Wednesday.
- The Miami airport was hit with a 100-mile-an-hour gust of wind and sustained significant water damage in several terminals. The airports in Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale are all closed until further notice.
Source: ABC News