Irma made landfall Sunday morning as a Category 4 hurricane
before eventually weakening. Still, areas the storm hit like Key West
and Naples, with almost "every house in the Keys" being affected in some
way, FEMA Administrator Brock Long said.
Post-Irma relief efforts
launched on Tuesday as some 90,000 Miami Beach and Florida Keys
residents were allowed to begin returning to their homes (while being
warned of heavy flooding and damage). "Returning residents should
consider that there are limited services. Most areas are still without
power and water. Cell service is spotty. And most gas stations are still
closed," said the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners on its Facebook page. The storm itself "will continue to weaken" on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Military
officials estimate that some 10,000 people who didn't originally leave
the area will still have to be evacuated from the Florida Keys. It could
take weeks to restore power to millions of homes across the state, and
the property damage on insured entities could cost anywhere from $20
billion to $40 billion, according to catastrophe modeling firm AIR
Worldwide.
No comments:
Post a Comment