Storm has made landfall on Marco Island, its second landfall of the day, and is moving northward after being downgraded to a category 3 storm
Full report: Irma hits Florida with surges and flooding
Evacuees face a desperate plight at Florida shelters as Irma strikes
What we know so far about Hurricane Irma
Irma so far and what's next
Hurricane Irma will bear down on Fort Myers, north of Naples, within the hour as a category two storm, with sustained winds of 110mph. Storm surges have begun in and around Naples, with waters rising more than four feet in less than an hour and forecasts predicting as much as 10-15ft above ground level.
Hurricane Irma made landfall at Cudjoe Key at 9.10am, with sustained winds of 130mph. Massive storm surges, estimated at 10ft or higher, inundated buildings, overwhelmed roads and cut off the Keys from mainland Florida.
Parts of downtown Miami flooded with rainwater and storm surges several feet deep, and tornadoes swept across swaths of south-eastern Florida. Winds toppled two construction cranes in downtown Miami, and all around south Florida brought down trees, live power lines, and street signs.
The storm then swept along the south-western coast line before making landfall again at Marco Island and Naples, at 3.35pm, as a category three storm, with sustained winds of 120mph, blinding walls of rain, and gusts as strong as 140mph. As it approached Naples, the storm’s winds temporarily drained Tampa Bay, raising fears that the weakened hurricane would still wallop cities with surges.
More than 2.7 million people have lost power, and more than 70,000 are in shelters, not including police, national guard emergency personnel. About 6.5 million people were ordered to evacuate coastal areas all around the state, roughly a third of the state’s entire population. Officials will not know the scope of the damage for at least another day, and urged people not to go outside, where debris, contaminated water, and live electrical lines remain life-threatening hazards.
Governor Rick Scott warned that south-west Florida could see storm surges of 10-15ft above ground – waves as tall as a one-storey home, able to carry off people, cars, and mobile homes. Tampa should expect surges as large as five feet, and south-eastern Florida surges of three to six feet, high enough to float cars or envelop a person.
At least 25 confirmed were dead around the Caribbean, including 11 on French St Martin, the US and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dutch St Maarten, Barbuda, and Anguilla. Survivors and relief workers who stepped out into towns of northern Cuba, the British Virgin Islands, Barbuda and other islands found whole homes and businesses gutted by the wind and water.
Hurricane Jose, also a category four storm, has shifted northward, creating hope in the eastern Caribbean that survivors might be spared a second hurricane in five days.
