During Hurricane Irma, Temple Shalom served as a sanctuary of a different kind. When the storm changed course at the last minute, the Naples synagogue suddenly became an emergency shelter. As power stayed off for days, the Reform temple, which had only minimal damage, was a place for neighbors to escape the heat and have a free meal.
Prudence Duchene will never forget the day she moved to Key West. It was Aug. 30 — the day a storm brewing in the Atlantic got named Irma.
Water started to be released Tuesday morning southwest from Lake Okeechobee, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeks to stem a post-hurricane rise in the lake’s water level. The Army Corps had resumed flows Friday from the lake east toward the St. Lucie Estuary but held off on western releases because of flooding from Hurricane Irma that has slowed storm recovery in Southwest Florida.
Insurance claims from Hurricane Irma now have surpassed $2 billion, the Office of Insurance Regulation announced Tuesday. As of 4 p.m. Monday, 372,281 claims represented $2,168,674,31 in dollar losses.
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, and with Hurricane Maria now churning the Atlantic, Florida lawmakers are forming or calling for blue-ribbon panels to improve the state’s readiness to deal with monster storms. House Speaker Richard Corcoran on Tuesday announced the creation of a “Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness” to “gather information, solicit ideas for improvement, and make recommendations.” Separately, state Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican, asked Gov. Rick Scott “to form a commission to review the…
With so much of Florida’s economy tied to tourism, Rick Scott believes it is essential the state get back to normal as soon as possible following Hurricane Irma, making the state inviting for visitors to return.
Crews started heading out into unincorporated Pinellas County Monday to get cracking on picking up the trees, branches and other debris downed by Hurricane Irma.