Four people killed as eye of Irma SLAMS into Florida: Deadly category 4 hurricane lashes the Keys with 130mph winds leaving a MILLION without power before heading to the southwest coast
The devastating Hurricane Irma has struck southern Florida with sustained winds of up to 130mph
Four have died in two separate car crashes, while a third died of natural causes overnight in a shelter
It was upgraded to a category 4 hurricane as it approached Florida Keys in the early hours of Sunday morning
Tornado warnings have been announced across Florida, particularly on the west side of the storm
Forecasts correctly predicted Irma would make first landfall over Lower Florida Keys on Sunday morning
Around 6.3million people have been told to leave their homes in mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders
The storm has already claimed at least 25 lives across the Caribbean since it took hold earlier in the week
President Trump urged everyone to follow instructions and said: ‘Here comes Irma. God bless everyone’
Experts have warned that ‘catastrophic’ and ‘life threatening’ storm surges could reach up to 15ft in Key West
By JAMES WILKINSON and JENNIFER SMITH
DAILYMAIL.COM
10 September 2017
Hurricane Irma has now made landfall on Florida, slamming into Key West, bringing sustained winds of 130mph, as well as rain and threats of tornadoes in what is expected to be one of the worst storms to hit the area in living memory.
The state thought it had escaped the worst case scenario as the storm moved into land and was downgraded to Category 3 – but late Saturday night it re-energized and was upgraded back to Category 4, the second-worst level, with gusts of up to 144mph.
And this is only the beginning for the mainland US, as Irma is set to move inland northwest, threatening Naples and other cities up the west coast of Florida as the wears on.
A man was killed after tropical-storm-strength winds caused him to lose control of the truck he was driving through Monroe County, which contains Key West. He had been carrying a generator, local officials told ABC News.
Two others died in a car accident in Hardee County, Florida, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The area is around 60 miles inland from Sarasota.
And an elderly man died of natural causes while sheltering in a school in the city of Marathon on the Keys, Larry Kahn, an editor for FlKeysNews.com, said.
‘He was staying in one of the classrooms,’ Khan explained. ‘Police came up, along with a couple of nurses who are here, actually, got everyone out of the room and sealed it off.’
Those deaths come after Irma claimed at least 25 lives in the Caribbean as it swept over several countries, destroying entire islands.
Meanwhile, more than a million people have been left without power across the state, while storm surges of 10-15 feet have been predicted around the Everglades, where lower land exacerbates the floods.
Highs of 5-10 feet have been predicted in Miami, where at least one crane has been destroyed on a high-rise; although the cranes are built to withstand strong gusts, and act as weather vanes, swinging with the winds, Irma could prove too much for many.
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