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Photos: Florida prepares for catastrophic hit from Irma

September 8, 2017, 3:22 PM

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Roger Schwartz, a 75-year-old retired firefighter, covers his prized classic Corvette after strapping wood to it at the Gulfstream Harbor mobile home park in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. Schwartz plans to wait out the storm in his manufactured home in the mobile home park for seniors in Orlando, despite the city’s pleas to residents to leave the fragile structures before hurricane-force winds threaten to rip them apart. (AP Photo/Claire Galofaro)
AP Photo/Claire Galofaro
A young boy plays in the waves churned up by Hurricane Irma on Hollywood Beach, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
Yameleth Georges, 5, sits on a curb as her family lines up with evacuees to enter the Germain Arena, which is being used as a fallout shelter, in advance of Hurricane Irma, in Estero, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
A young girl and her family seek shelter from Hurricane Irma at the West Boynton Park and Recreation Center in Boynton, Beach, Fla., on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Jim Rassol /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Jim Rassol /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
Evacuees fill Germain Arena, which is being used as a fallout shelter, in advance of Hurricane Irma, in Estero, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
AP Photo/Jay Reeves
The winds and sea are whipped up off of the Rickenbacker Causeway as two people cross the street in Miami as Hurricane Irma approaches on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. ( Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
I-95 is clear of traffic near Hallandale Beach Blvd. as people prepare for Hurricane Irma on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Hallandale, Fla. ( Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
The winds and sea are whipped up off of the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami as Hurricane Irma approaches on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. ( Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
The center of the storm was about 245 miles southeast of Miami early Saturday but damaging winds are blowing into South Florida as Irma barrels closer. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
WTOP/Steve Dresner
Debris has begun to litter the streets of downtown Miami as gusting winds signal the arrival of Irma. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Debris has begun to litter the streets of downtown Miami as gusting winds signal the arrival of Irma. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
WTOP/Steve Dresner
More than 6 million people in Florida and Georgia were warned to leave their homes. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
More than 6 million people in Florida and Georgia were warned to leave their homes. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
WTOP/Steve Dresner
Rain and gusty winds have already moved into the Miami-Dade area. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Rain and gusty winds in the Miami-Dade area heralded Irma’s approach Saturday morning. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
WTOP/Steve Dresner
Miami Beach was evacuated Friday ahead of Irma's expected landfall. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Miami Beach was evacuated Friday ahead of Irma’s expected landfall. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
WTOP/Steve Dresner
Miami Beach was evacuated Friday ahead of Irma's expected landfall. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Miami Beach was evacuated Friday ahead of Irma’s expected landfall. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
WTOP/Steve Dresner
Miami Beach was evacuated but some beachgoers decided to get some sun at their own risk. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Miami Beach was evacuated but some beachgoers decided to get some sun at their own risk. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
WTOP/Steve Dresner
Cars line up in long lines waiting to get sandbags in preparation for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. Lines of vehicles stretched for miles and many waited several hours to get the sandbags. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Cars line up in long lines waiting to get sandbags in preparation for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. Lines of vehicles stretched for miles and many waited several hours to get the sandbags. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
AP Photo/John Raoux
Sandbags ready for distribution are stacked in a parking lot as residents arrive to pick them up in preparation for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Sandbags ready for distribution are stacked in a parking lot as residents arrive to pick them up in preparation for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
AP Photo/John Raoux
Orlando city employees and volunteers fill sandbags for residents as they prepare for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. Lines of vehicles stretched for miles and many waited several hours to get the sandbags. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando city employees and volunteers fill sandbags for residents as they prepare for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. Lines of vehicles stretched for miles and many waited several hours to get the sandbags. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
AP Photo/John Raoux
Sandbags sit outside a police station office as a worker secures the grounds of a hotel along the beach ahead of Hurricane Irma in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Coastal residents around South Florida have been ordered to evacuate as the killer storm closes in on the peninsula for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Sandbags sit outside a police station office as a worker secures the grounds of a hotel along the beach ahead of Hurricane Irma in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Coastal residents around South Florida have been ordered to evacuate as the killer storm closes in on the peninsula for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
AP Photo/David Goldman
People at a Red Cross shelter set up at North Miami Beach Senior High School eat lunch, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 in North Miami Beach, Fla. Cuba evacuated tourists from beachside resorts and Floridians emptied stores of plywood and bottled water after Hurricane Irma left at least 20 people dead and thousands homeless on a devastated string of Caribbean islands and spun toward Florida for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
People at a Red Cross shelter set up at North Miami Beach Senior High School eat lunch, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 in North Miami Beach, Fla. Cuba evacuated tourists from beachside resorts and Floridians emptied stores of plywood and bottled water after Hurricane Irma left at least 20 people dead and thousands homeless on a devastated string of Caribbean islands and spun toward Florida for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
Heavy traffic traveling north bound on Interstate 75 moves slowly, as a major evacuation has begun in preparation for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Forrest Park, south of Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
AP Photo/Mike Stewart
A note is posted to a gas pump after the station ran out of gas ahead of Hurricane Irma in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Coastal residents around South Florida have been ordered to evacuate as the killer storm closes in on the peninsula for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
AP Photo/David Goldman
Richard Jay, right, boards up his motel with help from Dennis Seepersaue, center, and Shay Rymer ahead of Hurricane Irma in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Coastal residents around South Florida have been ordered to evacuate as the killer storm closes in on the peninsula for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Richard Jay, right, boards up his motel with help from Dennis Seepersaue, center, and Shay Rymer ahead of Hurricane Irma in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Coastal residents around South Florida have been ordered to evacuate as the killer storm closes in on the peninsula for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
AP Photo/David Goldman
Hanz Paez, left, and Cirous Amiri, right buy wood at a Home Depot in South Miami Dade to secure their property in anticipation of Hurricane Irma early Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 in Miami, Fla. The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Irma weakened a bit more but remains a powerful threat to Florida. (AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas)
AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas
MIAMI BEACH, FL - SEPTEMBER 07: Workers board up a hotel as a women walks past pushing a store manikin as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma on September 7, 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. Current tracks for Hurricane Irma shows that it could hit south Florida this weekend. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
MIAMI BEACH, FL — SEPTEMBER 07: Workers board up a hotel as a women walks past pushing a store manikin as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma on September 7, 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. Current tracks for Hurricane Irma shows that it could hit south Florida this weekend. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Leonel Geronimo, stuffs food into his suitcase as he and others wait for a bus in anticipation of Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Geronimo wants to get to a shelter off the beach, but is not sure what bus to take or which shelter to go. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
AP Photo/Marta Lavandier
Pedro Reimundo installs wood shutters on a home in Florida City, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Hurricane Irma weakened slightly Friday but remained a dangerous and deadly hurricane taking direct aim at Florida, threatening to march along the peninsula's spine and deliver a blow the state hasn't seen in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas)
Pedro Reimundo installs wood shutters on a home in Florida City, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Hurricane Irma weakened slightly Friday but remained a dangerous and deadly hurricane taking direct aim at Florida, threatening to march along the peninsula’s spine and deliver a blow the state hasn’t seen in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas)
AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas
(1/27)
Debris has begun to litter the streets of downtown Miami as gusting winds signal the arrival of Irma. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
More than 6 million people in Florida and Georgia were warned to leave their homes. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Rain and gusty winds have already moved into the Miami-Dade area. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Miami Beach was evacuated Friday ahead of Irma's expected landfall. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Miami Beach was evacuated Friday ahead of Irma's expected landfall. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Miami Beach was evacuated but some beachgoers decided to get some sun at their own risk. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Cars line up in long lines waiting to get sandbags in preparation for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. Lines of vehicles stretched for miles and many waited several hours to get the sandbags. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Sandbags ready for distribution are stacked in a parking lot as residents arrive to pick them up in preparation for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando city employees and volunteers fill sandbags for residents as they prepare for Hurricane Irma, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. Lines of vehicles stretched for miles and many waited several hours to get the sandbags. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Sandbags sit outside a police station office as a worker secures the grounds of a hotel along the beach ahead of Hurricane Irma in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Coastal residents around South Florida have been ordered to evacuate as the killer storm closes in on the peninsula for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
People at a Red Cross shelter set up at North Miami Beach Senior High School eat lunch, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 in North Miami Beach, Fla. Cuba evacuated tourists from beachside resorts and Floridians emptied stores of plywood and bottled water after Hurricane Irma left at least 20 people dead and thousands homeless on a devastated string of Caribbean islands and spun toward Florida for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Richard Jay, right, boards up his motel with help from Dennis Seepersaue, center, and Shay Rymer ahead of Hurricane Irma in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Coastal residents around South Florida have been ordered to evacuate as the killer storm closes in on the peninsula for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
MIAMI BEACH, FL - SEPTEMBER 07: Workers board up a hotel as a women walks past pushing a store manikin as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma on September 7, 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. Current tracks for Hurricane Irma shows that it could hit south Florida this weekend. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Pedro Reimundo installs wood shutters on a home in Florida City, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Hurricane Irma weakened slightly Friday but remained a dangerous and deadly hurricane taking direct aim at Florida, threatening to march along the peninsula's spine and deliver a blow the state hasn't seen in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas)

WASHINGTON — Hurricane Irma barreled through a string of Caribbean islands, leaving more than dozen dead and thousands homeless on a path toward Florida, where residents are bracing for a catastrophic blow.

Florida residents and tourists were ordered off beaches and faced gas shortages and gridlock on inland highways as hundreds of thousands of people evacuated. See photos.

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