Irma weakens after ravaging Florida and leaving thousands homeless in the Caribbean

[OyaYansa]

(Millions of residents of Florida continued on Tuesday without power, as Hurricane Irma remnants headed northwest of US soil, flooding the region and overflowing with rivers.

However, much of the Sunshine State seems to have belied forecasts of catastrophic damage emitted before its arrival.

Irma did leave a deadly wake in Cuba and the Caribbean, weakening on Monday and continued to hit the southeastern United States, where it caused "devastation" in the Florida Keys and floods in Jacksonville.

Those killed by the passage of Irma, after devastating as a powerful hurricane several Caribbean islands, totaled at least 40, after the 10 died in Cuba over the weekend, and another 27 reported in several Caribbean islands, which this Monday a fatal victim was added in Haiti.

Two other people were killed in traffic accidents caused by Irma in Florida, authorities said, after initially reporting three.

In the Caribbean, residents sought to return to normal despite massive infrastructure damage, while the United States, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sought to help their heavily affected overseas territories.

Florida residents began assessing damage to their properties on Monday, which appeared to be lower than expected.

The picture is spectacular, but not catastrophic, Roberto Cuneo, a 41-year-old Miami Beach resident who decided not to leave his home, told flooded streets with up to 30 cm of water and palm trees lying in the wind.

In the extreme south of Florida the picture was very different. Access to the Keys was closed. After flying over the area, Gov. Rick Scott later said the area had been "devastated" and the RV parks destroyed.

Some 6.5 million people were still without electricity in Florida, he said.

- In "recovery phase" -

Irma was advancing over Florida in a north-northwest direction, with a north-west turn on Tuesday. Winds had dropped to 56 km / h to degrade to tropical depression, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) bulletin at 0300 GMT.

According to forecasters, Irma's eye will continue to move over southwest Georgia on Monday night, and will move to Alabama on Tuesday.

Some 6.3 million people in the southeastern United States were ordered to evacuate for this hurricane, which triggered one of the largest exodus in the country's history.

As predicted, Irma struck on Sunday morning as a category 4 hurricane, on a scale of 5, in the Keys to the south of the peninsula, and in the afternoon landed again on Marco Island (west), but with category 2 .

Miami, the largest US city on Irma's path, dawned on Monday with branches, debris and street signs, especially in downtown and in the financial district of Brickell, whose coastal walk was swallowed by the waters.

"We are now entering a longer stage, which is the recovery stage," said Miamo Mayor Carlos Gimenez. "And believe me, folks, part of this is going to take a while, especially the restoration of energy."

Thousands of people have been homeless and urgently need to be housed after Hurricane Irma, especially in the eastern Antilles, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday in a paper.

Irma left at least 40 dead as they passed through the Caribbean and Florida, according to local authorities.

According to the WHO, "the islands that suffered the most damage urgently needed new medical personnel to replace those who worked 24 hours a day from Irma's step."

In Sint Maarten, the Dutch part of the island of St. Martin, some 5,000 people are waiting for emergency accommodation after the damage suffered by about 40% of homes.