Millions of people in Florida woke up without power on Monday morning as Hurricane Irma tears through the state, leaving a trail of flooding and devastation in its wake. The storm made landfall in the continental US on Sunday after ripping through the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm late last week. Wind speeds had slowed by the time Irma reached the Florida Keys on Sunday, and the storm had been downgraded to Category 4. Heavy rains and wind gusts reportedly in excess of 150 mph still wreaked havoc on the region as millions in the storm’s path were ordered to evacuate.
At 5:00 AM ET on Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center downgraded Irma to a Category 1 storm, though it continues to batter Northern Florida with heavy rains and sustained wind speeds of 75 mph at its center.
Local newscasters spent all weekend chasing the storm, but in the age of social media the most harrowing footage of Hurricane Irma comes from individuals in the region. Twitter and Facebook users across the Caribbean and Florida posted footage of the monster storm as it tore through the region. The resulting videos are incredible and heart wrenching, and we have embedded some of the most incredible scenes we’ve come across in this post.
Much of the footage shows Hurricane Irma as it flexed its muscle, with battering rains and wind gusts that were strong enough to down trees and even rip roofs off of buildings. Devastating flooding can also be observed in many of the videos.
This is what Miami Beach looked like Saturday night as the strong outer bands from Hurricane Irma moved onshore https://t.co/BD9zW0IikT pic.twitter.com/ddfNhGz2N7
— CNN (@CNN) September 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/breaking911/status/906843083320578048
https://twitter.com/b911nature/status/906859255730405377
https://twitter.com/breaking911/status/906842175740182528
https://twitter.com/breaking911/status/906847594118250497
A handful of viral videos show meteorologist and storm chaser Juston Drake as he manually measured the storm’s wind speeds.
@JustonStrmRider vs #HurrcaneIrma pic.twitter.com/9SkXDjV4Cg
— Simon Brewer (@SimonStormRider) September 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/906859803057598465
More videos of flooding and wind gusts show how powerful Irma was, even as a Category 3 and 4 storm.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/906932139643588608
https://twitter.com/bohemianceliac/status/906959228140707840
Wind gust to 131mph #Naples Municipal Airport. #Irma #Florida #IrmaFL pic.twitter.com/3IBizzwviG
— Jay Gray (@jaygraymatters) September 10, 2017
From a friend in Ft. Myers, FL. Will be sending video updates and posting here over the next couple hours as the eye of Irma passes through pic.twitter.com/FsPxNWV5Xp
— WeatherBELL (@weatherbell) September 10, 2017
Conditions are deteriorating in Ft. Myers as the Eyewall approaches. pic.twitter.com/cYCIOyF6f5
— WeatherBELL (@weatherbell) September 10, 2017
More video coming in from Ft. Myers, where winds have gusted near 100mph. pic.twitter.com/pVANIEdzEu
— WeatherBELL (@weatherbell) September 10, 2017
Aerial video from inside eye of Hurricane Irma. Just minutes earlier 100mph wind gusts were damaging these homes SE of Naples @KATVToddYak pic.twitter.com/BMi7k8k2Wh
— Brian Emfinger (@brianemfinger) September 10, 2017
Video out of Naples, Florida shows the roof of a gas station blowing off in Hurricane #Irma (Courtesy: el_arabe_official/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/q8Woor2aTD
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) September 10, 2017
Perhaps the most stirring video comes from the US Virgin Islands, where the aftermath looks almost post-apocalyptic.
Absolute devastation in the US Virgin Islands after #Irma. Forests wiped out as far as the eye can see pic.twitter.com/z8a30nbRMM
— Brian Kahn (@blkahn) September 10, 2017
For those seeking a way to help, The New York Times has a good roundup of organizations accepting donations.
