WHAT'S HAPPENING: Irma spreads rain, high winds to Southeast
By Associated Press
Sep 11, 2017 1:33 PM CDT
Alachua County Fire Rescue Firefighter Robert Smith, left, cuts up a fallen tree alongside Lt. Russell Valentine following Hurricane Irma in Alachua, Fla., Sept. 11, 2017. (Andrea Cornejo/The Gainesville Sun via AP)   (Associated Press)

MIAMI (AP) — Once-fearsome Hurricane Irma weakened Monday to a still-dangerous tropical storm as it spread high winds and rain across the Southeast, one day after engulfing most of the Florida peninsula. Both of Florida's coasts were pounded by storm surges, thousands of its residents remain in shelters and millions of homes and businesses around several states are without power.

IRMA, WHAT'S NEXT?

Still hundreds of miles (kilometers) wide, the huge storm system is dumping very heavy rain into southern parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama with Mississippi and Tennessee to follow. By Monday afternoon, the former Category 5 hurricane had top sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph) as it continued weakening while heading into south Georgia. The storm's core was centered about 2 p.m. EDT about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south-southeast of Albany, Georgia.

___

THE DAMAGE

Irma wreaked havoc over nearly the entire Florida peninsula from the southernmost Keys to the Georgia line, from the Atlantic to the Gulf coasts. It swamped homes, uprooted massive trees, flooded streets, cast boats ashore, snapped power lines and toppled construction cranes. Flooding triggered home evacuations in parts of Jacksonville, north Florida, and caused damage in the Orlando area at the center of the state. The full breadth of the damage remains unclear, particularly in the hard-hit Keys, where communications and travel were still difficult. Though the majority of the outages were in Florida, more than 7 million homes and businesses lost power during Irma's passage.

___

THE DEATH TOLL

One death in Florida, of a man killed in an auto accident during the storm, has been blamed on Irma. At least 36 people were left dead in the storm's wake across the Caribbean.

__

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE FLORIDA KEYS? The Navy is sending an aircraft carrier to Key West to provide emergency services. An update from Monroe County describes "an astounding recovery effort" taking place in the Florida Keys , where there was no water, power or cellphone service after the storm. The USS Lincoln aircraft carrier will be anchored off Key West to provide emergency services, and three other Navy vessels are en route. Officials said the National Guard has arrived in the island chain, and state transportation officials have cleared six of 42 bridges as safe for travel. However, roads remain closed because of debris.

___

FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS

Big airports in Florida remain closed, and flight cancellations are spreading along the track of Tropical Storm Irma outside Florida. More than 3,800 U.S. flights scheduled for Monday were canceled by late morning — and more than 9,000 since Saturday — according to tracking service FlightAware. Delta Air Lines is scrapping 900 flights Monday, including many at its Atlanta hub. American Airlines said it won't resume flights in Miami until at least Tuesday while canceling 300 flights in Charlotte, North Carolina, due to wind.

___

SOUTHEAST SCHOOL CLOSINGS, SHELTERS

Schools and businesses were closed across Alabama as Irma moved inland. Many classrooms also were closed in Georgia as it was under a tropical storm warning much of Monday. Hotels across Alabama also filled up with evacuees from Florida.

____

HURRICANE NEWSLETTER — Get the best of the AP's all-formats reporting on Irma and Harvey in your inbox: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb

See 7 more photos