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Irma's Last-Minute Westward Shift May Have Saved Florida $150 Billion In Damages

Irma's Last-Minute Westward Shift May Have Saved Florida $150 Billion In Damages

As it traversed the state of Florida, Hurricane (now tropical depression) Irma left a trail of destruction not seen since Hurricane Andrew hammered the state in 1992. But despite the rising death toll, historic flooding and a ruined power grid that could take weeks to repair, meteorologists say Floridians should consider themselves fortunate.

Because it could’ve been much, much worse.

Irma Death Toll Climbs To 11 As Storm Surges Flood Charleston And Savannah

Irma Death Toll Climbs To 11 As Storm Surges Flood Charleston And Savannah

The National Hurricane Center downgraded Irma to a Tropical Depression late Monday night, but even in its weakened state, the storm continues to cause deadly storm surges and volatile winds as it travels through Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, flooding downtown Charleston, South Carolina and uprooting trees in Atlanta, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, authorities have confirmed 11 deaths from the storm.

Surveying Irma's Caribbean Devastation: "It Was End-Of-World Times...People Are Roaming Like Zombies"

Surveying Irma's Caribbean Devastation: "It Was End-Of-World Times...People Are Roaming Like Zombies"

As much of Florida is left flooded and without power from this weekend's hurricane, the damage across much of the Caribbean goes well beyond water damage and downed power lines with many describing the devastation left by Irma as "end-of-the-world times."  As one resident of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands told the Washington Post, "it was beyond rough times, it was end-of-the-world times...everything normal to us has been destroyed."

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