Hurricane Irma: 5.8 million without electricity and other devastations

Photo: CNN

Hurricane Irma is currently category 1 with sustained winds of 75 mph.

The eye of the storm is north of Tampa. It’ll move over the Florida peninsula, CNN reporrts.

More than 5.8 million people have lost power in Florida. More than 6 million people received mandatory evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Irma.

The National Weather Service’s Jacksonville office has issued a flash flood emergency for parts of downtown Jacksonville.

Bill South, a meteorologist, says he’s never seen a hurricane quite like Irma.

“Personally, for me, it’s the worst storm I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Historically, it’s probably in the top three since 1851.”

There have been several instances of looting amid Irma’s destruction in Fort Lauderdale and other places.