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Hurricane leaves nearly over eight million people in 3 states without power
FLORIDA - Three people were killed while 8.1 million are without power in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina after Hurricane Irma slammed into the three states on Sunday and early Monday.
Irma, which slammed into Florida as a Category 4 storm with more than 150 mph winds, caused massive flooding and storm surges in cities and towns on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida.
The hurricane then moved north and also caused massive flooding in Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia as winds pushed seawater back into rivers.
Jacksonville in Florida also suffered record storm surge and massive flooding. The city's Memorial Park became one huge lake, reports said.
Coroner Ronnie Ashley of Abbeville County in South Carolina told CNN that a 57-year-old man was struck by a falling tree branch as he was cutting downed limbs outside his home.
In Georgia, two people died.
Kannetha Clem, a spokeswoman for the Worth County Sheriff's Office, revealed that a 62-year-old man who was on his roof was killed. The county experienced wind gusts of 69 mph, Clem said. Another man was killed in Sandy Springs, a suburb in Atlanta, when a tree fell and cut the man's home in half," said Atlanta City communications director Sharon Kraun.
A total of 8.10 million people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are without power due to Irma.
Disaster and utility company officials said about 6.5 million power consumers in Florida, over 1.4 million in Georgia and nearly 200,000 in South Carolina are without electricity and it could take days or weeks before power is restored.
Days before Irma struck the Florida peninsula on Sunday, the hurricane lashed Caribbean islands leaving tropical paradises into wastelands and 27 people dead.
US authorities ordered the evacuation of people days ahead of Irma's landfall and at least 5.6 million people moved out of Florida and Georgia – considered as one of the largest mass evacuations in US history.
Irma made landfall twice in the US on Sunday. The first one was over the Florida Keys in the morning and the other on Marco Island in the afternoon.
Irma weakened into a tropical storm on Monday evening as it moved through northern Georgia, the US National Hurricane Center said. 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