CLOSE Hurricane Irma took aim at heavily populated areas of central Florida on Monday as it carved a path of destruction through the state. Video provided by Reuters Newslook 
 
 Roofing and siding litter the streets at Naples Estates trailer park in East Naples, Fla., on Sept. 11, 2017. (Photo: Rodney White, The Register via the USA TODAY Network) 
 
 MIAMI — Mighty, massive Irma finally weakened, chainsaws buzzed and 30,000 utility workers scrambled to restore power to battered Florida on Monday as the state slowly came back to life amid the devastation of the historic storm. 
 
 Irma, which smashed onto the state Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane with 130-mph winds, weakened to a tropical storm Monday after hammering the state with roof-ripping winds and driving rain. 
 
 The sun peeked out over much of the state, but Irma wasn't finished. Gushing floodwaters paralyzed wide areas. Downed trees, power lines and other storm debris blocked roads across the state. 
 
 Florida's Emergency Response Team said 65% of utility customers were without power early Monday. Every county from Key West to the Georgia line was affected. White House national security adviser Tom Bossert, speaking in Washington, urged evacuees not to go home until they are told it is safe to do so. 
 
 "We can have power down in homes for ... weeks," Bossert said. "This isn't over yet." 
 
 More: Hurricane Irma: Where it is now and what we know 
 
 Hurricane Irma: Complete coverage from the USA TODAY Network 
 
 Gov. Rick Scott visited storm-ravaged parts of the state Monday, telling reporters that what he saw was "horrible." 
 
 Scott warned that storm surge was causing record flooding in Jacksonville and other cities in northeastern Florida. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry asked residents who are safe to let friends and family members know. 
 
 "We are getting calls asking about loved ones," Curry tweeted. 
 
 The Florida Keys took a severe beating. Irma ripped through the island chain hours before its second landfall Sunday on Marco Island. The storm roared north, wide enough to lash both coasts with wind, rain and ominous floodwaters. Millions evacuated ahead of the storm, and more than 585 shelters across the state were housing more than 200,000 people Monday. 
 
 Four “last resort” shelters set up in the Keys will become more permanent, with services such as food and supply distribution. Scott flew over the area and said flood damage was extensive. Water and sewer systems weren't working and there was no power. 
 
 "My heart goes out to the people in the Keys," Scott said. "I just hope everybody survived. It's horrible what we saw." 
 
 In Everglades City, on the Gulf Coast 30 miles east of Marco Island, trees were toppled and storm fronts blown out. Parts of the city were underwater after a storm surge as high as 8 feet. 
 
 "I've never seen it this bad," said Lee Kidder, manager of the Captain's Table hotel and restaurant, where water swamped his downstairs apartments and trees smashed the pool patio. "But it could have been way worse." 
 
 Naples, 15 miles north of Marco Island, fared a bit better. Crews saw no major structural damage and only minimal flooding in their initial post-storm tours, Mayor Bill Barnett said. 
 
 “Everything is preliminary, but the real bright side — if there is one — is that we didn’t get 15 feet of storm surge,” Barnett said. “That would have been catastrophic.” 
 
 One Naples man died as an indirect result of the storm, however. Evacuee Richard Koff, 91, was walking through an Interstate 75 rest area in Georgia when he was the victim of a fatal hit-and-run crash Sunday. 
 
 Utilities warned that it could take weeks to fully restore electricity to the state's 21 million people. The Florida HIghway Patrol was escorting utility convoys around the state, and more than 30,000 workers were laboring to restore power. 
 
 At 11 p.m. ET Monday, the storm was centered about 95 miles south by southwest of Atlanta, driving maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Irma was forecast to continue to weaken as it rolled through Georgia and beyond Tuesday. 
 
 Georgia was reporting power outages for almost 600,000 homes and businesses Monday; South Carolina had almost 100,000 outages. 
 
 Still, many areas were expecting worse than they got. 
 
 The Tampa-St. Petersburg metro area had braced for a direct hit that never quite came. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, saying the local storm surge apparently will not be as bad as feared, lifted the city curfew Monday. 
 
 "We really dodged a bullet," Buckhorn said. 
 
 Miami-Dade County, spared a direct hit when Irma spun west, still was staggered. About 80% of homes lost power and many roads remained impassable, but lifelong residents who know what hurricanes can do knew they'd been spared. 
 
 "This is great for us, but bad for the west coast," said Alex Silva, 41, who was using a machete and a rake to clear the street outside his Coral Gables home Monday morning. 
 
 "I would feel like a jerk if I didn't get out and do something to help," Silva said. 
 
 Miami International Airport hoped to reopen for limited passenger service Tuesday. Irma's high winds pushed water through window seals and roof joints, causing minor flooding through the sprawling complex. Even the war room where airport managers met Monday morning was damaged by water. 
 
 "Nobody wants to get planes in and out more than me," CEO Emilio Gonzalez said. "But we can't just flip a switch." 
 
 In Palm Bay, 175 miles north of MIami, Irma's howling winds punched a hole in the roof of The Shack Seafood Restaurant, tossing the screened porch atop the building like a folded pancake. Jean Zemkoski, who has owned the restaurant for 46 years, was concerned that employees might be without work for weeks. 
 
 "When we left, everything was secure," said . "I came back this morning and this is what I see." 
 
 In Western North Carolina, almost 13,000 residents were without power Monday night as a result of the storm. The residents represented more than half of the 22,000 Duke Energy customers who did not have power as of 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday, according to Duke Energy. 
 
 Gomez reported from Miami, Bacon from McLean, Va. Contributing: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY; Arek L. Sarkissian, Tallahassee Democrat; Joseph Cranney, Brett Murphy, and Tim Aten, Naples Daily News; Rick Neale and Dave Berman, Florida Today; Nicole Rodriguez, The Stuart (Fla.) News; Jennifer Bowman, Asheville Citizen-Times 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2xYNpmQ ||||| CLOSE Video shot in Miami, Florida, shows strong winds pushing ocean water onshore as Hurricane Irma makes landfall. USA TODAY 
 
 East Oakland Park Boulevard is completely blocked by a downed street light pole as Hurricane Irma hits the southern part of the state on September 10, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images) 
 
 MIAMI — Hurricane Irma marched relentlessly up Florida's Gulf coast Sunday after slamming through the Florida Keys, as the meteorological behemoth's slashing rain and roaring winds rolled toward Georgia and beyond. 
 
 The storm made landfall on the Florida Keys and later near Naples, but Florida's eastern coast was far from spared Sunday from the almost 400-mile-wide storm. In Miami, high winds snapped construction cranes and water swept down streets like rivers. In Palm Bay, 175 miles to the north, a tornado destroyed six mobile homes. Water rose by 4 feet in 30 minutes in some places. 
 
 In Miami-Dade County, about 850,000 homes were without power, prompting Mayor Carlos Gimenez to impose a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew. Looters proved to be a problem too, with thousands of businesses and homes empty due to evacuations. 
 
 "We're going to be monitoring any types of crimes," Miami Police Commander Freddie Cruz told USA TODAY. 
 
 Millions of Floridians evacuated ahead of the historic storm, and more than 3.4 million power customers — about 7 million people — were without electricity Sunday. 
 
 "We're going to get through this," Gov. Rick Scott told workers in the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. "We've got a lot of work to do," he added. 
 
 Scott visited Pensacola on Sunday to check on evacuees and get updates from officials. Volunteers in the shelters will be a growing need, he said. 
 
 "People are going to be in our shelters for awhile," Scott said. 
 
 Despite a 10-mile east shift Sunday afternoon Hurricane Irma still was poised to travel north and strike Tampa as a weaker storm before daybreak Monday, the National Hurricane Center said. 
 
 By 11 p.m. ET, Irma's winds had slowed somewhat to maximum sustained speed of 100 mph, but continued to barrel north at 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. At 11 p.m. ET, the storm was 50 miles southeast of Tampa. 
 
 Irma was forecast to continue traveling toward the Big Bend area in the Panhandle and strike Tampa as a Category 1 or 2 early Monday. It will be a tropical storm or Category 1 when it reaches the Tallahassee area. 
 
 CLOSE Hurricane Irma may have weakened, but it's still a big storm with clouds stretching from West Virginia to the Florida Keys. And it's not the only hurricane worth following right now. USA TODAY 
 
 The storm sent 120 mph winds to the Naples area after making landfall on Marco Island Sunday afternoon. 
 
 The east shift didn't change conditions for Central Florida and the east coast, Hurricane Center acting Director Ed Rappaport said. Those areas expected at least tropical storm conditions, stronger gusts and tornadoes. 
 
 Even as Irma wound down, the storm was creating complications in the Naples area. Irma blew the roof off of the fire station at Naples Municipal Airport, where the National Hurricane Center logged a wind gust of 142 mph, according to a 6 p.m. ET update Sunday. Emergency crews in Naples were working with the help of backup generators good for up to four days and able to be refueled. In Collier County, residents were asked to boil water before drinking or cooking until further notice. 
 
 In Venice, north of Naples, Irma was preventing utility workers from repairing a significant water main break, forcing the city's Utilities Department to shut down the water system. The development meant residents would have no water for the time being for drinking or flushing toilets. 
 
 The storm claimed at least three lives in Florida. A Hardee County sheriff's deputy and a prison employee died in a vehicle crash related to Irma on Sunday, officials said. Deputy Julie Bridges was on her way to pick up shelter supplies when the vehicle she was driving collided with another vehicle carrying Sgt. Joseph Ossman, who was reporting for work at the Hardee Correctional Institution. 
 
 One person died in a single vehicle accident off of a highway in Orange County, Fla., Sunday evening, county Fire Chief Otto Drozd said. "This underscores just how dangerous the roads are because it was just a single vehicle," Drozd told reporters. 
 
 Hardee County Deputy Julie Bridges and DOC Sergeant Joseph Ossman killed in head-on crash during Hurricane Irma https://t.co/B6D4zmopXbpic.twitter.com/Qo28IYJfVI — Heavy.com (@HeavySan) September 10, 2017 
 
 President Trump approved a disaster declaration on Sunday for Florida, the White House announced Sunday. The declaration makes federal aid available for several counties affected by the storm, including Miami-Dade. 
 
 The president told reporters outside of the White House on Sunday that he will visit Florida "very soon." He did not specify where in Florida or when. 
 
 Irma was expected to roll Monday into Georgia, where Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for all 159 counties. Atlanta claimed the dubious distinction of receiving its first tropical storm warning in city history. 
 
 The states of Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Illinois all could face severe effects from the storm before it quiets by week's end, the National Weather Service said. 
 
 ***EVERYONE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS*** 
 
 
 
 ***IT IS TIME TO HUNKER DOWN*** 
 
 
 
 ***THE WORST WINDS ARE YET TO COME***#Irma#FLkeys#flwxpic.twitter.com/lmHTcRv68l — NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) September 10, 2017 
 
 Irma slammed into Cudjoe Key on Sunday morning as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 mph. That marked the first time two consecutive Category 4 hurricanes have hit the United States, following Hurricane Harvey in Texas last month. Irma also is Florida's first major hurricane since Wilma in 2005. 
 
 Larry Kahn, editor of the Keynoter, said power was out and there was no running water at Marathon High School, a "refuge of last resort" on the middle Keys. 
 
 “Everything is underwater," Kahn said. "I mean everything." 
 
 Sunday night, Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay instituted an indefinite dusk-to-dawn curfew to reduce travel danger and the risk of looting. 
 
 "Anyone out after the designated times is subject to arrest," he said in a statement. 
 
 President Trump spoke to the governors of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, and has been speaking regularly with Florida's Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the White House said. Trump said he was encouraged by the response to the disaster this far. 
 
 "I think it's been going really well," Trump said. "FEMA has been incredible. We're working very well with the governor and the other governors in the surrounding states." 
 
 Watch as storm-surge floods engulf a Miami neighborhood. #HurricaneIrmapic.twitter.com/04jj00WodU — USA TODAY (@USATODAY) September 10, 2017 
 
 In one of the biggest U.S. evacuations ever, about 6.3 million people in Florida — more than one-quarter of the state’s population — were told to clear out from threatened areas. Another 540,000 were directed to move away from the Georgia coast. 
 
 More than 10,000 flights were canceled, airports were closed, ocean cruises diverted and Disney resorts shut down as a result of the storm. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — the world's busiest airport — could see disruptions as Irma moves north. 
 
 CLOSE One man in Fort Myers, Florida says he's going to keep to his 'gambling ways' when it comes to Hurricane Irma. He says he's 'rolling the dice' and staying home. USA TODAY 
 
 Irma's track marked the first time the Tampa-St. Petersburg region was the target of a major hurricane in almost a century. 
 
 Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn warned residents to prepare for the worst. 
 
 "Be prepared for a storm that we've never seen before," Buckhorn tweeted. "Our day has come." 
 
 Large waves produced by Hurricane Irma crash into the end of Anglins Fishing Pier in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on September 10, 2017. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images) 
 
 Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, and its 2 million residents remained under a curfew until 10 a.m. ET Monday. The town of Davie reported that a wastewater pump station lost power between Saturday night and Sunday morning and was expected to overflow, raising fears that sewage could contaminate standing water in neighborhoods, officials said. 
 
 More: Utility: Up to 9 million people could lose power during Hurricane Irma 
 
 More: Florida volunteers step in to prepare for Hurricane Irma 
 
 More: Waiting for Jose: Caribbean braces for second potent storm 
 
 Emergency management officials were concerned that east coast residents who evacuated might try to return home after Irma's track veered toward the Gulf coast. 
 
 "Don't make a dumb decision," cautioned Brevard County Communications DIrector Don Walker. "Stay put until the all-clear is issued by emergency officials." 
 
 That will likely would be Monday afternoon, at the earliest, he said. 
 
 Florida Power and Light, which serves nearly 10 million people in southern Florida, expects about 6 million people will be affected by the storm. 
 
 A news conference to update the status of outages across the state was interrupted — by a power outage. 
 
 The storm's death toll has already reached into the double digitssince roaring out of the open Atlantic and chewing through a string of Caribbean islands. 
 
 CLOSE . Land interaction has already weakened Irma's core, and the NHC 5pm advisory now has it as a category 2 storm with 110mph sustained winds. 
 
 Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke said the federal government is prepared to respond to Hurricane Irma and the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey simultaneously. 
 
 "I don’t have any doubt … that as a federal government we can do this and will do this," she said. 
 
 Rice and Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Alan Gomez, Trevor Hughes, Bart Jansen and Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY; Joseph Cranney and Arek Sarkissian, Naples Daily News; Isadora Rangel and Nicole Rodriguez, TCPalm; Tyler Vazquez, Florida Today; Kevin Robinson, Pensacola News Journal; The Associated Press 
 
 More: Hurricane Irma: Where is it now, where is it headed? 
 
 More: Florida flight cancellations now at 5,000, extend through Monday 
 
 More: Questions and answers on Hurricane Irma’s impact on Florida 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2xWUjsV ||||| A crane atop a high-rise under construction in downtown Miami collapsed Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, amid strong winds from Hurricane Irma. The crane collapsed in a bayfront area filled with hotels and high-rise... (Associated Press) 
 
 TAMPA, Florida (AP) — A massive but weakened Hurricane Irma zeroed in on the Tampa Bay region early Monday after hammering much of Florida with roof-ripping winds, gushing floodwaters and widespread power outages. 
 
 Irma continued its slog north along Florida's western coast having blazed a path of unknown destruction. With communication cut to some of the Florida Keys, where Irma made landfall Sunday, and rough conditions persisting across the peninsula, many held their breath for what daylight might reveal. 
 
 The monster storm measured more than 400 miles (640 kilometers) wide, and its winds of up to 130 mph (210 kph) sucked the ocean water out of bays, swamped much of downtown Miami and toppled at least three constructions cranes — two over downtown Miami and one in Fort Lauderdale. 
 
 More than 3.3 million homes and businesses across the state lost power, and utility officials said it will take weeks to restore electricity to everyone. 
 
 Irma's center was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of the heavily populated Tampa-St. Petersburg area early Monday, though in a much-weakened state. While it arrived in Florida a Category 4 hurricane, it was down to a Category 1 with winds of 85 mph (135 kph). 
 
 Continued weakening was forecast and the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Irma was expected to become a tropical storm over northern Florida or southern Georgia later in the day Monday. 
 
 Meanwhile, more than 160,000 people waited in shelters statewide. 
 
 There were no immediate reports of deaths in Florida. In the Caribbean, at least 24 were people were killed during Irma's destructive trek across exclusive islands known as the vacation playground for the rich. In Cuba, the storm swamped Havana's iconic seawall, pushing water nearly a third of a mile (half a kilometer) inland. 
 
 In one of the largest U.S. evacuations, nearly 7 million people in the Southeast were warned to seek shelter elsewhere, including 6.4 million in Florida alone. Upon leaving Florida, a weakened Irma is expected to push into Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and beyond. A tropical storm warning was issued for the first time ever in Atlanta, where many schools canceled classes because of the storm. 
 
 Bryan Koon, Florida's emergency management director, said late Sunday that authorities had only scattered information about the storm's toll. 
 
 "I've not heard of catastrophic damage. It doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It means it hasn't gotten to us yet," Koon said. 
 
 In the low-lying Keys, where a storm surge of over 10 feet (3 meters) was recorded, appliances and furniture were seen floating away, and Monroe County spokeswoman Cammy Clark said the ocean waters were filled with navigation hazards, including sunken boats. 
 
 The county administrator, Roman Gastesi, said crews would begin house-to-house searches Monday morning to check on survivors. And an airborne relief mission, led by C-130 military cargo planes, was gearing up to bring emergency supplies to the Keys. 
 
 Storm surge and tornadoes were two big concerns. The National Hurricane Center said a federal tide gauge in Naples reported a 7-foot (more than 2-meter) rise in water levels in just 90 minutes late Sunday. And an apparent tornado spun off by Irma destroyed six mobile homes in Palm Bay, midway up the Atlantic coast. Flooding was reported along Interstate 4, which cuts across Florida's midsection. 
 
 In Miami, a woman who went into labor and was guided through delivery by phone when authorities couldn't reach her because of high winds and street flooding. Emergency crews later took her to the hospital. 
 
 Curfews were imposed overnight in Miami, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and much of the rest of South Florida, and some arrests of violators were reported. Miami Beach barred outsiders from the island. 
 
 Fort Lauderdale police arrested nine people they said were caught on TV cameras looting sneakers and other items from a sporting goods store and a pawn shop during the hurricane. 
 
 About 30,000 people heeded orders to leave the Keys as the storm closed in, but an untold number refused, in part because, to many storm-hardened residents, staying behind in the face of danger is a point of pride. 
 
 John Huston, who stayed in his Key Largo home, watched his yard flood even before the arrival of high tide. 
 
 "Small boats floating down the street next to furniture and refrigerators. Very noisy," he said by text message. "Shingles are coming off." 
 
 Irma made landfall just after 9 a.m. Sunday at Cudjoe Key, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) outside Key West. On Sunday afternoon, it rounded Florida's southwestern corner and hugged the coast closely as it pushed toward Naples, Sanibel, Fort Myers and, beyond that, Sarasota. 
 
 Gretchen Blee, who moved with her husband to Naples from Long Island, New York, after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 heavily damaged their beach home, took cover in a hotel room as Irma raged. 
 
 "I said, 'Let's go and live the good life in paradise'," she said. "And here we are." 
 
 Some 400 miles (640 kilometers) north of the Keys, people in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area feared a first direct hit from a major hurricane since 1921. But the storm weakened to a Category 2 approaching that area. 
 
 "I've been here with other storms, other hurricanes. But this one scares me," Sally Carlson said as she snapped photos of the waves crashing against boats in St. Petersburg. "Let's just say a prayer we hope we make it through." 
 
 Along the Gulf Coast, two manatees became stranded after Irma sucked water out of Sarasota Bay, in Florida's Manatee County. Several people posted photos of the mammals on Facebook amid reports rescuers later dragged them to deeper water. 
 
 President Donald Trump approved a disaster declaration for Florida, opening the way for federal aid. And Florida's governor activated all 7,000 members of the Florida National Guard, and 10,000 guardsmen from elsewhere were being deployed. 
 
 Irma once was the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic, a Category 5 with a peak wind speed of 185 mph (300 kph). For days, forecasters had warned Irma was taking dead aim at the Miami area and the rest of Florida's Atlantic coast. But then Irma made a westward shift and lost some of its punch while crossing Cuba's northern coast — just before a crucial turn into Florida's Gulf Coast. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein in Washington; Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg; Terry Spencer in Palm Beach County; Gary Fineout in Tallahassee; Terrance Harris and Claire Galofaro in Orlando; and Jason Dearen and David Fischer in Miami contributed to this report. 
 
 ___ 
 
 HURRICANE NEWSLETTER — Get the best of the AP's all-formats reporting on Irma and Harvey in your inbox: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb
– Good riddance, Hurricane Irma. The storm was downgraded to a still-powerful tropical storm Monday morning in northern Florida as it moved toward Georgia and other southeastern states, reports USA Today. Irma still had winds of 70mph, along with pounding rain, and nearly 6 million people across Florida remained without power, reports CNN. As of 8am, Irma was about 100 miles north of Tampa. Authorities in Florida asked people to continue sheltering in place so they could clean up streets and assess damage. "Stay off the roads, stay off the streets, let us complete our assessment, clear the roads of water, power lines, trees and then you can get out there and determine what happened to your individual property or your neighborhood," said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler. Storm surge will continue to be a concern in Florida throughout Monday, and utilities warned it could be weeks before power is fully restored across the state. Much concern had been raised about Tampa, and while the city woke to flooded streets and downed trees, the early sense is that things were nowhere near as bad as once feared, reports TampaBay.com.