Photos: Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida
Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest hurricanes in history, pounded the Caribbean islands with winds of 185 mph on its way to a likely landfall in South Florida.
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Miroslava Roznovjakova, left, and her husband, Ray Hayyat, add some last minute pieces of plywood to their store in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, as Hurricane Irma approaches. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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The Germain Arena in Estero, Fla., became an evacuation center where thousands of people flocked on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, as Hurricane Irma approaches the state. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
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Local resident John Branigan, 65, one of the few islanders choosing to ride out Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Jose, passes by the closed and boarded-up Bernie's Oyster House on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, on Tybee Island, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)
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The winds and sea are whipped up off of the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami as Hurricane Irma approaches on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Mike Stocker/Sun Sentinel/TNS)
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A view of an empty I-195 as the outer bands of Hurricane Irma reach Miami early on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Mike Stocker/Sun Sentinel/TNS)
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The winds and sea are whipped up off of the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami as Hurricane Irma approaches on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Mike Stocker/Sun Sentinel/TNS)
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Evacuees fill Germain Arena, which is being used as a fallout shelter, in advance of Hurricane Irma, in Estero, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
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Volunteer firefighters Todd Smith and his wife, Tammy, make final preparations closing down Tybee Island City Hall before Hurricane Irma arrives on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, on Tybee Island, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)
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Docks at Grove Harbour Marina get battered by winds and surf as high tide begins to roll in with strong winds as Hurricane Irma approaches, on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald via AP)
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Hurricane specialist Mike Brennan stands near a radar image of Hurricane Irma with its eye on the coast of Cuba, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. (AP Photo/Andy Newman)
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Evacuees are moved to another building with more bathrooms while sheltering at Florida International University ahead of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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People seek shelter from Irma with their pets at the West Boynton Park and Recreation Center in preparation for Hurricane Irma in Boynton, Beach, Fla., on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Jim Rassol /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
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Hundreds of local residents being evacuated from the city fill the Savannah Civic Center during a mandatory evacuation from Hurricane Irma on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Savannah, Ga. Irma regained Category 5 status late Friday. Thousands of people in the Caribbean fought desperately to find shelter or escape their storm-blasted islands, and more than 6 million people in Florida and Georgia were warned to leave their homes (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
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Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Miami. Though most animals will reman in their secure structures, the cheetahs and some birds will ride out the storm in temporary housing. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
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This Sept. 6, 2017 photo provided by the Dutch Defense Ministry shows a few of the homes that remained intact in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, in St. Maarten. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees. Significant damage was reported on the island that is split between French and Dutch control. (Gerben Van Es/Dutch Defense Ministry via AP)
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Shoppers wait in line for the arrival of a shipment of water during preparations for the impending arrival of Hurricane Irma, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Irma roared into the Caribbean with record force early Wednesday, its 185-mph winds shaking homes and flooding buildings on a chain of small islands along a path toward Puerto Rico, Cuba and Hispaniola and a possible direct hit on densely populated South Florida. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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This Sept. 6, 2017 photo provided by the Dutch Defense Ministry shows storm damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, in St. Maarten. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees. Significant damage was reported on the island that is split between French and Dutch control. (Gerben Van Es/Dutch Defense Ministry via AP)
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Motorists head north on US 1, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, in Key Largo, Fla., in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. Keys officials announced a mandatory evacuation Wednesday for visitors, with residents being told to leave the next day. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
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James Byrd, left, and Richard Clark, right, load their sandbags in a truck Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, at Newtown Estates Recreation Center in Sarasota, Fla., as they prepare for Hurricane Irma. The each got their ten bags before Sarasota County ran out of sandbags for residents. The county still has plenty of dirt but residents must bring and fill their own bags. A new shipment of sandbags is expected Thursday. (Mike Lang/Sarasota Herald-Tribune via AP)
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Joshua Alicea, right, rescue staff member from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency toured the streets of the Matelnillo community searching for citizens in distress during the passage of Hurricane Irma through the northeastern part of the island in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. The US territory was first to declare a state of emergency las Monday, as the National Hurricane Center forecast that the storm would strike the Island Wednesday. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
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Motorists head north on US 1, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, north of Key Largo, Fla. Keys officials announced a mandatory evacuation Wednesday for visitors, with residents being told to leave the next day. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
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Employees of the Dominican Immigration Office board up the windows of their building as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Irma, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Sept. 6 2017. The strongest hurricane ever measured in the Caribbean is expected to lash the Dominican Republic with heavy rains and 185-mph winds batting other islands in the region. (AP Photo/Ezequiel Abiu Lopez)
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Rescue staff from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency investigate an empty flooded car during the passage of Hurricane Irma through the northeastern part of the island in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. Hurricane Irma lashed Puerto Rico with heavy rain and powerful winds, leaving nearly 900,000 people without power as authorities struggled to get aid to small Caribbean islands already devastated by the historic storm. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
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Kids play at a shelter in a local church during the evening before the arrival of Hurricane Irma in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. Dominicans wait for the arrival of Hurricane Irma after it lashed Puerto Rico with heavy rain and powerful winds, leaving nearly 900,000 people without power as authorities struggled to get aid to small Caribbean islands already devastated by the historic storm. (AP Photo/Tatiana Fernandez)
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This Sept. 6, 2017 photo provided by the Dutch Defense Ministry shows storm damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, in St. Maarten. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees. Significant damage was reported on the island that is split between French and Dutch control. (Gerben Van Es/Dutch Defense Ministry via AP)
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People walk out with water and necessities in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irma on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017 in North Miami. Heavy rain and 185-mph winds lashed the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico's northeast coast Wednesday as Hurricane Irma roared through Caribbean islands on its way to a possible hit on South Florida. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)
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Residents line up at Frost Park in Dania Beach, Fla., and fill up sandbags in preparation of Hurricane Irma in Dania Beach, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees on a track Thursday that could lead to a catastrophic strike on Florida. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
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Northbound traffic on the turnpike near Sunrise Blvd. is backed up in the rain as motorist prepare for Hurricane Irma on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017 in Sunrise, Fla. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees on a track Thursday that could lead to a catastrophic strike on Florida. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
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Felled tress block a road in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Samana, Dominican Republic, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees. Irma is flooding parts of the Dominican Republic as it roars by just off the northern coast of the island it shares with Haiti. (AP Photo/Tatiana Fernandez)
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Waves crash against a boat near the shore as Hurricane Irma passes over Samana, Dominican Republic, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Hurricane Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean. (AP Photo/Tatiana Fernandez)
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In this geocolor GOES-16 satellite image taken Thursday, Sep. 7, 2017, at 11;15 a.m. EDT, shows the eye Hurricane Irma just north of the island of Hispaniola. The fearsome Category 5 storm cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving at least 10 dead and thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees on a track Thursday that could lead to a catastrophic strike on Florida. (NOAA-NASA via AP)
