Hurricane Irma continues to sweep through Florida, damaging Miami and devastating many towns throughout Central Florida. Over the weekend, floodwaters were seen rushing through the streets of Miami. South Beach, which is usually packed with tourists, was without a single soul in sight.

The hurricane had ripping wind speeds of up to 130 mph. The hurricane has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, although the city barely looks recognizable due to the flood waters and damage. Social media users uploaded photos and videos of desolate scenes from usually-busy hubs such as the Financial District and Miami Beach.

The powerful winds from Hurricane Irma have caused a crane to break in half. According to city officials, a second crane also collapsed onto a building that was being worked on.

Irma is so powerful that weather experts and government officials have urged the public to stay indoors due to fears of the rapidly-rising waters outside.

Lights out

Florida Power & Light, a utility company that serves customers in South Florida, reports that over 2 million Floridians are without power. Nearly 850,000 of those customers are in Miami-Dade County. Even those who are safe and with power have had an impact with officials imposing an 8 p.m. curfew for the next two nights in Miami.

Emergency vehicles were unable to access the street until winds calmed down, and no one is allowed to roam the streets until they are completely cleared, according to officials.

No place to go

Hundreds of Floridian families have had to leave their homes and seek shelter in other places. Some were bold enough to try to ride out the storm, although a mandatory evacuation was put in place for several counties.

Irma touched town in Cudjoe Key early yesterday and made its way to Naples within hours. Wind gusts were said to have reached over 80 mph.

Personal accounts of struggle have flooded social media. Doctors in Miami say they were forced to talk a woman through giving birth at home as the hurricane pounded down. Firefighters were unable to respond in time to reach the woman, according to the City of Miami's twitter account.

Fortunately, the woman was able to have a healthy delivery at home with the help of health officials over the phone.

Miami-Dade Fire Department officials say that rescue workers are responding to calls on a case-by-case basis and urging residents to stay inside to decrease the risk of danger.
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