Displaced but not daunted, the Tampa Bay Rays hung tough in their temporary home. Adeiny Hechavarria hit a tiebreaking homer off Sonny Gray in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Rays, hosting a series relocated to Citi Field because of Hurricane Irma, beat the New York Yankees 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday night said he’s “made it clear” that getting gasoline to the pumps and turning the lights back on are tied for his No. 1 priority. Scott “will continue to aggressively work until every Floridian can return to work and their kids can go back to school,” his office said in a press release.
Hurricane Irma’s devastating storm surge came with weird twists that scientists attribute to the storm’s girth, path and some geographic quirks. A combination of storm surge, heavy rains and swollen rivers sent some of the worst flooding into Jacksonville, Florida, even though Irma roared into the opposite end of the state, had weakened to a tropical storm and its eye stayed at least 80 miles (130 kilometers) away.
Florida fruit growers and farmers have just barely begun to assess the damage Hurricane Irma wrought on the state’s citrus, sugar cane and vegetable crops—but they expect it will be significant. With power and communications still out across much of Florida, officials said Tuesday that getting a full picture will take weeks. What remains unknown: Exactly how much damage the crops suffered, how much producers might recover from crop insurance, and how much more people might pay for their morning…
Most commercial airports in Florida reopened Tuesday, but activity was limited and hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed as the state recovered from Hurricane Irma. American Airlines said the storm forced it to cancel more than 5,000 flights over several days, cutting into revenue and profit.
As monster Hurricane Irma buzz-sawed its way up Florida’s Gulf Coast, it looked for several hours like the heavily populated Tampa Bay area could face catastrophic wind damage and flooding from the first major storm to roar ashore there in 96 years.
A Tampa man died Monday while working with a chainsaw to clear branches after Hurricane Irma crossed through the Bay area.
