Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
hurricaneirma | Get the latest news and updates on the storm<br />
I<br />
Monday<br />
September 11, 2017<br />
$2<br />
Hurricane Irma<br />
STATEWIDE DISASTER<br />
Widespread impact<br />
effects extend from<br />
Keys to Jacksonville<br />
Already soaked<br />
Nor’easter hits prior<br />
to storm’s landfall<br />
High winds<br />
Damage likely despite<br />
Category 2 downgrade<br />
An American flag is torn Sunday as Hurricane Irma passes through Naples. The storm weakened to a Category 2 hurricane after making landfall as a Category 4 just after 9 a.m. at<br />
Cudjoe Key. Forecasters said it could hit the heavily populated Tampa-St. Petersburg area early Monday. (David Goldman/Associated Press)<br />
‘pray, pray for everybody<br />
in Florida,’ Scott urges U.S.<br />
Waterways are near cusp of<br />
flooding before Irma skirts by<br />
By Jennifer Kay & Freida Frisaro<br />
Associated press<br />
By nate monroe<br />
nate.monroe@jacksonville.com<br />
MIAMI | A monster Hurricane Irma roared<br />
into Florida with 130 mph winds Sunday for<br />
what could be a sustained assault on nearly<br />
the entire Sunshine State, submerging streets,<br />
knocking out power to millions and snapping<br />
massive construction cranes over the Miami<br />
skyline.<br />
The 400-mile-wide storm blew ashore in<br />
the morning in the mostly cleared-out Florida<br />
Keys and then began a slow march up the<br />
state’s west coast. Forecasters said it could hit<br />
the heavily populated Tampa-St. Petersburg<br />
area early Monday.<br />
“Pray, pray for everybody in Florida,” Gov.<br />
Rick Scott said on “Fox News Sunday” as<br />
more than 160,000 people statewide waited it<br />
out in shelters.<br />
Irma struck as a Category 4 but by late afternoon<br />
had weakened to a Category 2 with<br />
110 mph winds that whipped Florida’s palm<br />
trees with drenching squalls. A storm surge<br />
of over 10 feet was recorded in the Keys, and<br />
forecasters warned some places on the mainland<br />
could get up to 15 feet of water.<br />
There were no immediate confirmed reports<br />
of any deaths in Florida, on top of the<br />
Palm Bay officer Dustin Terkoski walks over debris from a two-story home<br />
at Palm Point Subdivision in Brevard County, after a tornado spawned by<br />
Hurricane Irma touched down on Sunday. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel)<br />
More InsIde<br />
A lingering and super-charged nor’easter<br />
left Northeast Florida wind-whipped, soaked<br />
and with swollen waterways Sunday, hours<br />
before the long tendrils of slow-moving Hurricane<br />
Irma were forecast to begin lashing<br />
the region after twilight.<br />
The combination of the two is what concerned<br />
public officials heading into Monday.<br />
Irma’s projected path up the west coast has<br />
likely spared Jacksonville the worst effects of<br />
the behemoth storm, challenging public officials<br />
across the region to battle complacency<br />
among residents who still faced the potential<br />
for severe flooding, winds and tornadoes<br />
when Irma was forecast to unleash its force<br />
late Sunday.<br />
The dynamic made for an odd day.<br />
As grim-faced city leaders got briefings<br />
in the Emergency Operations Center downtown,<br />
residents stocked up on last-minute<br />
liquor and beer, topped off fuel tanks and<br />
packed into well-known local watering holes<br />
and diners — Players Grille on Hendricks Avenue,<br />
Waffle House on Roosevelt Boulevard,<br />
Kickbacks in Riverside. At Atlantic Beach,<br />
residents crowded Beach Diner for breakfast<br />
24 people killed during Irma’s destructive<br />
trek across the Caribbean.<br />
Many streets were flooded in downtown<br />
Miami and other cities. In the low-lying Keys,<br />
boats were reported sunk and appliances and<br />
furniture were seen floating away, but the full<br />
Jaguars: Jacksonville<br />
defeats Texans 29-7 in<br />
NFL Week 1 game. C-1<br />
Fans: Bars are filled with<br />
fans watching the Jaguars’<br />
game against Houston. B-1<br />
Shelters: Facilities in the<br />
area attract many, but<br />
more room remains. B-1<br />
before heading in for the day.<br />
The Jaguars’ surprisingly strong 29-7 win<br />
over the Houston Texans buoyed spirits in<br />
the afternoon.<br />
One patron at Players Grille — where it<br />
was so busy beer taps were running dry,<br />
More onlIne<br />
IrmA continues on A-4 Get the latest about damage and closures in the area. jacksonville.com/hurricaneirma HUrrICAne continues on A-4<br />
Weather<br />
Heavy rain and windy<br />
Forecast on A-2<br />
80 72<br />
today's<br />
high<br />
tuesday<br />
morning's<br />
low<br />
Follow us on Facebook<br />
facebook.com/FLTimesUnion/<br />
Twitter<br />
@jaxdotcom<br />
Classified B-3<br />
Comics D-2, 3<br />
Crosswords D-2, 6<br />
editorials A-6<br />
Life D-1<br />
Legals C-5<br />
metro<br />
B<br />
Sports<br />
C<br />
COpYrIGHt 2017<br />
NO. 254<br />
152ND YeAr<br />
4 SeCtIONS<br />
34 pAGeS<br />
6 65486 00100 4
Change language