Hurricane Irma made landfall on Florida's southern islands today and claimed three lives as millions of people, including thousands of Indian-Americans, evacuated the state in the wake of the storm that left a trail of death and destruction across the Caribbean.
Hurling 130 mph winds, Irma struck Florida Keys as it barrelled towards the US state's west coast where millions of people have evacuated turning many places into ghost towns.
“There is imminent danger of life-threatening storm surge flooding along much of the Florida west coast, including the Florida Keys, where a storm surge warning is in effect,” the hurricane center said.
“The threat of catastrophic storm surge flooding is highest along the southwest coast of Florida, where 10 to 15 feet of inundation above ground level is expected. This is a life-threatening situation,” it said.
As the Category four storm bore down on Florida this morning, at least three deaths were reported in the state.
A man in Monroe County, which encompasses Key West, was killed after he lost control of a truck that carried a generator as winds whipped at tropical-storm strength, officials said.
Two other people, including a sheriff's deputy, died in a car crash in the rain in Hardee County, officials said. The sheriff's deputy, identified as Julie Bridges, was a 13-year veteran of the Hardee County force, Hardee County Sheriff Arnold lanier was quoted as saying by ABC News.
More than 6.3 million people were told to evacuate Florida, with warnings of a huge storm surge that would be “life-threatening” to anyone in its path.
Irma has already devastated parts of the Caribbean with 25 deaths. About 60 Indian nationals are being evacuated from the vacation island of St Martin in the Caribbean.
The eye of the Category 4 storm was 24 kilometres southeast of Key West.