Hurricane Irma Arrives And Leaves Downtown Miami Submerged Under Water

Irma made landfall in the U.S. as a Category 4 storm Sunday but not before leaving a deadly path of destruction across the Caribbean islands. The hurricane, which has been ramrodding its way toward the U.S. for more than a week, brought massive 10 to 15-foot storm surges.

The storm was about 20 miles east-northest of Key West, and is capable of sustaining winds of 130 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center reported Sunday morning. Several social media users have been uploading videos and images of the storm’s damage.

MEDIA: The inlet of the Miami River as Hurricane Irma makes landfall

(Via Rogelio Mora-Tagle) pic.twitter.com/alW3k9mGq3

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) September 10, 2017

Forecasters project Irma will meander its way toward Florida’s western coast off Fort Myers through the day Sunday, as the hurricane’s eye wall reaches the Tampa Bay area. At one time, Irma was sustaining wind speeds of up to 185 miles per hour, but those gusts slowed as the massive storm bowled over smaller islands in the Caribbeans.

WATCH: A storm chaser battles Hurricane Irma's powerful winds. pic.twitter.com/X5T16VcIup

— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 10, 2017

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and other officials have been warning citizens that Irma could be the storm of the century — a hurricane with every bit the destructive capacity as Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

“A very dangerous day is unfolding in the Florida Keys and much of West Florida,” Michael Brennan, a hurricane specialist at the NHC, told reporters in an early morning update Sunday. “It certainly could inundate the entire island. That’s why everyone in the Keys was urged so strongly to evacuate.”

An estimated 127,000 people are huddling in shelters statewide as the storm powerblasts its way along a low-lying string of islands. Irma knocked out power to over 1 million customers located more than 100 miles from the storm’s eye wall. 

Source: The Daily Caller