Hurricane Irma: Millions Left Without Power in Florida

The winds of Hurricane Irma in the state of Florida, USA, have led to power outages affecting more than three million homes and businesses; further outages are expected, and local officials have stated that full restoration of services to citizens may take weeks. Irma made landfall in Florida on Sunday, September 10. While the storm's intensity rating had decreased to Category 3, it wasn't long before the winds picked up speed and the rating increased to Category 4. Atlantic hurricanes are rated on a scale of one to five based on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with five being the highest. A few hours after Irma entered the United States, its intensity decreased again, and it has now reached Category 2, with maximum winds of 180 kilometers per hour. Reuters reports that power outages currently affect southern and eastern Florida. Florida Power & Light (FPL), the largest electricity provider in Florida, stated that the central generators have failed, and they will be using backup generators. Reports indicate that power has been restored to over 200,000 customers out of nearly three million FPL customers who lost power. An FPL spokesperson said that the company's systems need to be restored, and this process will take 'weeks.' Meanwhile, it has been reported that U.S. President Donald Trump will soon travel to Florida to assess the situation and the damage incurred. Mr. Trump described Irma as a 'big monster' and stated that 'all groups are working very well together.' In response to questions about the costs associated with the damage, he did not specify a figure and said, 'Right now, we are concerned about the lives of people, not the costs.' Predictions indicate that Irma will reach the densely populated areas of Tampa early Monday morning. Reports currently indicate that at least 24 people have died in the initial path of the storm in the Caribbean. No reports of potential casualties in Florida have been published yet.