After a hurricane in Florida. Irma covers Florida: dramatic photos of the aftermath of the hurricane

  • 13.07.2020

Florida residents, shaken by Hurricane Irma, return to their destroyed homes.

The remnants of Hurricane Irma, which descended to a tropical storm, swept deep into the United States, leaving more than half of the state's residents without part of their property and plunging the city streets of Orlando, Miami, and other coastal cities under water. This affected the coastal zone of Georgia and South Carolina.

Dropped to tropical storm Irma, Monday was one of the worst Atlantic hurricanes before it hit Florida Key on Sunday and swept north along the Gulf Coast, moving inland, damaging the third most populous U.S. state, Reuters writes.

Still, the scale of destruction in Florida and neighboring states has faded in comparison to the total devastation of Category 5 Hurricane Irma in parts of the Caribbean, where the storm killed nearly 40 people - at least 10 of them in Cuba - before showing its rage in Florida.

The Florida Key resort archipelago of the United States, which is located in the Gulf of Mexico and connects to the mainland by one narrow highway, was especially hard hit, Governor Rick Scott said at a press conference on Monday. “There is destruction there,” he said, adding that virtually every mobile home on the island chain was left upside down. "It's terrible what we've seen."

While some of the Florida Key evacuees expressed anger that authorities were refusing to allow them to return to their homes on Monday, the US Department of Defense said the 10,000 residents who remained on the island could now find themselves stranded and in need of evacuation.

Florida Key residents were mostly evacuated before the storm hit, but police have now set up a roadblock to prevent displaced residents from returning as authorities work to restore power, water, fuel supplies and medical care.

Monroe County firefighters said they would later return access to the road on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. local time for residents and business owners from Largo, the main island at the upper end of the archipelago, and the cities of Tavernier and Islamorada further south.

The situation in Miami after Hurricane Irma. In Miami, which narrowly escaped Irma's most damaging winds but experienced severe flooding, Little Haiti residents returned to the rubble of houses and trailers that had been smashed to pieces by the storm.

“I wanted to cry, but this is what is, this is life,” said 67-year-old Melida Hernandez, who emerged from a nearby church after the storm, looking at the ruins of her home, split in two by a fallen tree.

Severe flooding was reported Monday in northeastern Florida, including Jacksonville, where police rescued residents from water as the St. John's River rose to levels unseen since 1846.

"Stay inside. Climb. Don't go out," the Jacksonville website says warning residents. "There are floods throughout the city." The city also warned residents that they feared snakes and alligators trapped in their homes due to flooding.

Until dawn on Monday, Florida National Guard troops and local firefighters were rescuing about 150 people from dozens of flooded homes in western Orlando and ferrying them in large trucks and lifeboats to a shelter in higher areas.

Irma later moved to Georgia, lowering the wind speed to 100 km / h, the tidal waves of the storm led to flooding in coastal cities in Brunswick and Savannah, Georgia, in Charleston, South Carolina.

Hurricane Irma victims in the USA

The storm found its first victim over a weekend in Florida Key - a man was found dead in a pickup truck that crashed into a tree due to strong winds.

On Sunday in Orange County, Florida, it was reported that there was at least one other, possibly assault-related, fatal car accident. Two people were killed by falling trees in two suburbs of Atlanta on Monday, local officials said.

According to the state, about 6.5 million people, about one third of Florida's population, were displaced from their homes before Ira arrived, and more than 200,000 people sought refuge in 700 shelters.

State officials are urging evacuees across the state to stay put and not rush home, saying many power lines have been knocked down, debris scattered, and other dangers, including snakes and aligators in people's homes. "Don't put your life at great risk," Gov. Rick Scott said.

One of the biggest problems was widespread power outages, with an estimated 7.4 million homes and businesses without power in Florida and neighboring states. Authorities said it could take weeks to fully restore service to businesses and households. Gov. Scott said 65% of Florida residents were without electricity.

Movement to and from Florida also remained unchanged. Miami International Airport, one of the busiest in the country, stopped passenger flights at least on Monday.

Miami-Dade and Fort Lauderdale County Police reported 48 arrests for looting.

Insured property losses in Florida due to Hurricane Irma are expected to be between US $ 20 billion and US $ 40 billion. The figure, below previous forecasts of up to $ 50 billion in insurance losses, helped calm Wall Street as there were concerns that Irma would curtail US growth.

The National Hurricane Watch Center informs that Irma's epicenter is now 85 kilometers east of Talahasi in Florida. The wind speed at the epicenter is about 95 km / h or 26.3 m / s. At a speed of about 28 km / h, Irma is moving to the southeastern regions of Georgia and on Tuesday, it is expected to affect the eastern regions of Alabama.

Irma caused the worst flooding in 100 years in Jacksonville: the historical maximum of water rise, set in 1864, has already been overcome and the water level in some areas in the central part of the city has reached 1.2 meters.

From now on, you can submit official applications for the damage caused by Irma to personal property and business. If a hurricane has damaged your property, take supporting photographs and submit a damage claim.

In Atlanta, for the first time in the history of the city, a tropical storm warning has been announced. One of the largest US airports, an important transport hub, announced a partial closure. Delta was the first to announce the cancellation of flights; more than 800 flights were canceled.

Residents are starting to return from shelters to their homes. There is no information about large-scale destruction, only felled trees are reported.

Photo @MikeTheiss 3h

Photo @ZacharyYatesFL

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for Charleston, South Carolina. The warning is in effect until 1 am local time.

The National Hurricane Center has just released an updated projection of Irma that shows an approaching storm near the Florida-Georgia border. “Irma continues to weaken, moving across the extreme northern part of Florida,” the center said.

Miami Mayor Thomas Regalado said about 72% of the city is de-energized, but officials have a recovery plan. The biggest problem is roads, Regalado said, adding that thousands of trees have been felled.


10:00 Atlanta, Georgia, the busiest airport, canceled nearly 900 flights on Monday due to storm Irma. These cancellations account for about a third of the airport's total daily schedule.

In addition, Delta has advised customers who are scheduled to fly to Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday to change their route. The airline will not charge any cancellation fees.

Southwest Airlines said it will operate a short cut in Atlanta and Birmingham on Monday. The airline hopes to normalize operations at these airports on Tuesday.

08:50 The Florida Governor is urging people not to return to their homes until they are told.

08:30 Hurricane Irma weakened to a tropical storm with gusts of wind up to 112 km / h. It is expected to weaken further as it continues to push further inland.

07:30 Hurricane Irma has weakened to Category 1 and is located 80 km from the Tampa Bay area with a population of about three million. At least three people have already died in the southern part of the state. Now forecasts include flooding that has already begun in Miami.

The hurricane loses strength, the maximum sustained wind speed is up to 140 km / h.

Although the elements are weakening, they should be feared at least until late Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

7:00 The National Hurricane Center also warns of a tornado threat in northeast Florida, southeast Georgia and South Carolina that will persist until Tuesday morning.

6:30 Hurricane Irma was the most powerful tropical storm hitting the Atlantic coast of the United States in a decade and caused enormous damage to several island states in the Caribbean:

  • Cuba: no casualties were reported, although the authorities recalled significant losses. There is no electricity in Havana.

Photo: twitter / picworld
@picworldru

  • Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy: 60% of all houses on the island of Saint-Martin, which is divided between France and the Netherlands into two parts, uninhabitable, the French authorities said. On the French side of the island, nine people were killed and seven people were missing. Four people died on the Dutch side of the island.
  • Turks and Caicos , British Overseas Territory: significant destruction.
  • Antigua and Barbuda: 95% of the buildings on this small island are destroyed; Prime Minister Gaston Brown said the restoration would cost $ 100 million. One person died.
  • Anguilla: significant damage, one person died
  • Puerto Rico: More than six thousand inhabitants of this American territory are hiding in shelters and many are left without electricity. At least three people were killed.
  • British Virgin Islands: five people died, serious damage.
  • US Virgin Islands: killed four people, badly damaged infrastructure

6:00 What is known about hurricanes Jose and Katya?

Hurricane Jose, which followed Hurricane Irma, is Category 4 with wind speeds of 190 kilometers per hour. Initially, it threatened the same areas that Hurricane Irma struck, but has now swung north towards the open ocean.

Hurricane Katya, which originated in the Gulf of Mexico, is a Category I tropical storm. It hit the Mexican state of Veracruz on Friday evening and then turned into a tropical anticyclone.

Hurricane Irma has weakened to a tier two of five possible but continues to move inland. Its speed just after midnight is about 50 meters per second. Several people have already died in the south of the state. Now forecasts include flooding that has already begun in Miami.

At Florida Power & Light (it is the largest electricity supplier in the state) said that the company will resume power supply to almost all customers on the east coast by Sunday. For western customers, they should expect electricity in five days.

Company spokesman Rob Gould said the damage to electrical infrastructure was not as extensive as expected.

“What we are seeing is encouraging, especially on the west coast where our core transmission structures have not been affected,” Gould said. He added that there are still exceptions where the damage was particularly serious.

About half of the state's 21 million residents were left without electricity. Gov. Rick Scott said more than 30,000 freelancers are working to reactivate the supply of light across the state.

The Florida Keys turned out to be the hardest hit part of Florida. The water supply during the hurricane did not work, all three hospitals on the islands were closed, and gasoline supplies were extremely limited.

To enter the Florida Keys, a yellow sticker was required on the car, giving the right to stay on the islands, or proof of residence or property in their territory.

County officials warned residents that the service sector there is now in a limited mode.

Meanwhile, parts of Florida have returned to normal. Workers cleared roads and resumed gas supplies, while residents who fled the hurricane on cruise ships returned. The flooded streets still remind of the devastating hurricane Irma.

The USDA said hurricane victims who receive food stamps can use them for hot food, usually in violation of program rules.

The cruise industry is returning to normal life. Royal Caribbean and Carnival planned to resume cruises from Port Everglades to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday.

In Georgia, Irma left 15 cm of precipitation, and in Atlanta, wind gusts reached 96 km / h. In some coastal areas, damage and flooding were reported, with more than 500,000 people being evacuated before the storm. Tibi Island Mayor Jason Buelterman said hundreds of houses were flooded there.

Parts of South Carolina also experienced strong wind and rain, and historic Charleston was among the cities hit by flooding.

Alabama and North Carolina declared states of emergency before the storm, and Irma's remnants swept across several other states, the National Weather Service said.

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Florida has begun its recovery from Irma. Photo ABC News

“I have not had the Internet since the arrival of Irma. The hurricane caused a lot of damage to Miami. Millions of Florida residents are without light, ”Twitter user Makada reports.

Do not forget about the marauders who rampage in the same Miami, taking advantage of the situation. A YouTube user posted a video of the robbery of one of the supermarkets.

Miami-Dade County Police detained 28 people for theft and looting during Hurricane Irma.

Earlier, law enforcement officers red-handed detained nine robbers in the city of Fort Lauderdale. Attackers tried to rob a pawnshop during the rampant elements. Similar incidents were seen in Texas during the recent Hurricane Harvey.

Florida Keys crisis
Jane O'Brian, a Miami-based BBC reporter, explains the situation in the Florida Keys:
Overall, Miami might not have been a lot more fortunate. The center of the hurricane did not walk through the city itself, but strongly touched the Florida Keys (a chain of coral islands at a distance of about 25 km from the US coast). It is to the islands that the attention of rescuers is riveted.

Communication with the islands was poor as early as Friday. A certain number of people were evacuated and stayed in the same hotel as us, and they had a hard time keeping in touch with the relatives who remained.
Reportedly, about 10 thousand people remained on the islands to wait out the storm. We don't know what's wrong with them now.
The first thing to be done by the rescuers is to check how many of the 42 bridges connecting the islands with each other remain intact. If at least one is not functional, then problems may arise - some of the islands may be isolated.

The entire area of \u200b\u200bthe islands is closed - it is impossible to get there until the authorities finish assessing the damage.

The scale of the rescue operation
More than 6.5 million homes across the state of Florida are without electricity. For example, in Collier County, 90% of homes have no light. In Miami, 80% of all high-voltage wires have been cut, large areas of the city are flooded, although compared to many other parts of the state, the city has not suffered catastrophic damage. Many people report that, in addition to light, water is intermittent in their homes.

A drone video from Naples, on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico about 200 km northwest of Miami, shows rows of ruined single-story houses and flooded streets between them.

President Donald Trump is helping Florida with a large sum from the budget, calling Hurricane Irma "a huge monster."

The money will go to medical care, debris removal, power restoration and building renovation.

Martin Centerfitt, Monroe County Rescue Manager, 73,000, says a large Air Force and National Guard rescue mission will soon arrive in the state, according to the Miami Herald.

In the Florida Keys, which are in Monroe County, "emergency burial teams" are to arrive as part of the mission.

State government director of rescue programs, Brian Kuhn, told reporters that it would be impossible to determine the exact number of victims until the start of the rescue operation.