Florida

As Irma Makes Landfall, Floridians Take to Social Media To Share Storm Experiences

Gov. Scott said Irma is "powerful and deadly" and will likely be a storm as bad as, if not worse than, Hurricane Andrew was 25 years ago

Hurricane Irma made landfall at Cudjoe Key in the lower Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. Sunday as a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds, but was downgraded to a Category 2 as it moved up the west coast toward Tampa. Floridians braced for the storm's impact on their communities on both the west and east coasts.

Jared Beck tweeted from Miami: "In South Miami Dade, we lost power last night. Strong winds/rain all day. Seems to be subsiding now. Lost a papaya tree. Otherwise ok #Irma."

The National Hurricane Center said the storm was considered "extremely dangerous."

Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency. Officials imposed mandatory evacuation orders, affecting 5.6 million Florida citizens, including parts of the Miami metro area and the Florida Keys.

Scott said Irma is "powerful and deadly" and will likely be a storm as bad as, if not worse than, Hurricane Andrew was 25 years ago.

[NATL] Hurricane Irma Lashes Through the Caribbean

With the storm's shift to the west toward the Tampa region. Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay were shuttering their parks Saturday evening and planned to remain closed Sunday and Monday. 

Here are some examples of how Floridians took to social media to share their Irma experiences as the storm moved up the coast.

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