2:16
- ABC News
- September 11, 2017
5 dead, 3.5M without power as Irma nears Tampa Bay
The storm is a Category 2 hurricane as it heads north.
2:16
One source of concern before the storm was how the numerous construction cranes in Miami and neighboring cities would fare in the high winds.
The Associated Press is reporting that three cranes have collapsed as of Sunday night: two in Miami and one in Fort Lauderdale.
Visibility became poor in Naples this afternoon as the eye of the storm neared.
Some now sheltered in Naples had fled from the eastern side of Florida after it was first forecast that Irma would hit the eastern coastline. The mayor of Naples said those in hotels around the city were ordered out of common areas and into their rooms.
After the bulk of the storm passed over the city, Naples officials said that the city's water distribution lines have been broken so residents are being told to boil the water that is coming out of taps.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/irma-hurricane-14-ap-jc-170910_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned residents of dangerous storm surges that could reach 10 to 15 feet above sea level in the Naples area.
\"Do not think the storm is over when the wind slows down,\" Scott said Saturday. The dangerous storm surge \"will rush in and could kill you.\"
There have already been four deaths reported in Florida, including a man in Monroe County, which encompasses Key West. He 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, a sheriff's deputy and a corrections officer, died from a two-car crash in the rain in Hardee County, which is about 60 miles inland from Sarasota, officials said.
The fourth fatality was reported in Orange County, which is near Orlando, after a car crash that was deemed related to the hurricane.
Photos: Irma leaves path of destruction
The deputy, identified as Julie Bridges, was a 13-year veteran of the county force, said Hardee County Sheriff Arnold Lanier. She was heading home after a night shift, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The second victim was a sergeant at the Hardee Correctional Institute who had been on his way to work, the highway patrol said.
Tampa, which is now experiencing wind gusts of over 50 mph, is in the predicted path of the storm, and the city's mayor Bob Buckhorn did not mince words when he warned residents on Twitter earlier today.
\"We are about to get punched in the face by this storm. We need to be prepared,\" he wrote.
We are about to get punched in the face by this storm. We need to be prepared.
— Bob Buckhorn (@BobBuckhorn) September 10, 2017
He later spoke to ABC News and said that Tampa, which is naturally low-lying and on the Gulf Coast, has taken precautions to prepare.
\"I think we're about as ready as any city could be, given what we're about to face,\" Buckhorn said to ABC News.
He said that the city will deal with the aftermath but \"right now, we're pretty much in God's hands.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/hurricane-irma-flag-ap-jt-170910_4x3t_384.jpg\")
As the monster storm neared, about 6.5 million Floridians were under mandatory and voluntarily evacuation orders. Evacuations were ordered in Georgia and South Carolina as well.
Over 116,000 people are in 530 shelters across Florida to ride out the storm. 30,000 people are in shelters in Miami-Dade alone.
But others decided to hunker down at home bracing for Irma's impact.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/irma-highway-rt-as-170909_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Sylvia Constantinidis, a 27-year resident of Miami, told ABC News earlier this week that she would stay in the city during the storm.
\"I own my house. You leave and then there is a major disaster then they don't let you come back to Florida until many days after,\" Constantinidis said. \"If you have any damage or water getting into your house and you have to wait for two or three weeks to come back, then your house will be completely damaged by the time you come back to Florida.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/irma-hurricane-15-ap-jc-170910.jpg_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Roughly 3.5 million customers were without power in Florida late Sunday night, according to Rob Gould, the vice president of communications at Florida Power & Light.
Meanwhile, a tornado watch is in effect today for Fort Myers, Tampa, Melbourne, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville. There have been at least three reported tornadoes in central and south Florida.
Irma's heavy rains and winds are expected to reach Georgia, too, and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal today expanded his emergency declaration so all Georgia counties are under states of emergency.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/irma-power-out-florida-gty-ps-170910_4x3t_384.jpg\")
ABC News' Daniel Manzo, Erin Dooley, Jordyn Phelps, Will Gretsky, Dominick Proto, Matthew Fuhrman and Chris Donato contributed to this report.
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