Hurricane Irma weakens, continues to lash Florida

A weakened but still dangerous Irma pushed inland on Monday as it hammered Florida with winds and floodwaters that created hazards even for rescuers trying to help beleaguered residents.

Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm over Florida, but it still had winds near hurricane force. Its outer bands were also blowing into Georgia, where the storm’s center was expected to arrive later in the day. With rough conditions persisting across Florida, many communities in Irma’s wake feared what destruction would be revealed as daylight allowed authorities to canvass neighborhoods.

The city of Jacksonville in northeast Florida ordered urgent evacuations on Monday. 

Meanwhile, Irma’s rampage across northern Cuban took the lives of 10 people, officials said on Monday as the scope of the disaster came more fully into view. Some of the victims had ignored instructions to evacuate, the civil defense authority said. 

Indian-Americans in Atlanta and Georgia pooled in their resources to help several million people from Florida affected by Irma.