LOWER MATECUMBE KEY, Fla. (AP) – The Latest on Hurricane Irma (all times local):
2:10 a.m.
France’s president is promising to rebuild stronger Caribbean territories after Hurricane Irma destroyed much of St. Martin and St. Barts.
A member of the Arizona Task Force 1 search and rescue team knocks on doors while checking on homes and their owners after Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
In a visit to the affected islands, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged anger over the government’s response to the disaster.
He brought in much-needed food, water and medical supplies Tuesday and said officials were working to evacuate those who wanted to leave and set up much-needed services for those who choose to stay.
He said France was bringing in air-conditioned tents so children can start classes again soon, and he said a center would be established by Monday to begin processing requests for financial help.
Macron pledged to rebuild St. Martin as a “model” for withstanding future storms.
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1:45 a.m.
Florida residents are drifting back from shelters and far-away havens to see Hurricane Irma’s scattershot destruction.
Flooded streets remained Tuesday, and the count of damaged and totaled homes ticked upward even as some curfews were lifted, flights resumed and amusement park rides again twirled.
Crews were working to repair the lone highway connecting the Keys. Residents of some of the islands closest to Florida’s mainland were allowed to return and get their first look at the devastation two days after Irma roared in with 130 mph (209 kph) winds.
Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long says preliminary estimates suggested that 25 percent of the homes in the Keys were destroyed and 65 percent sustained major damage.
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A man paddles a kayak near a flooded home along the Alafia River Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Lithia, Fla. A storm surge from Hurricane Irma pushed water into the low lying area. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
A bed sits amongst the remains of its room in a home demolished from Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A man, who refused to be identified, pushes a canoe through water from the Alafia River Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Lithia, Fla. A storm surge from Hurricane Irma pushed water into the low lying area. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Alfonso Jose Jr., 2, is floated down his flooded street by his parents as the wade through water to reach an open convenience store in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Rob Brehm cleans up debris from his home as a demolished house sits across the street after Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Damaged homes sit in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Key West, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
A sailboat is pushed up between two buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Key West, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Angelina Ventura, left, and Jose Gonzalez retrieve belongings from their flooded home in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jose Lopez floats his son Jose Jr, 1, in a splash pool as they retrieve belongings from their flooded home following Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jose Encarnacion pulls a chicken out from a cage as he retrieves belongings from his flooded home following Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Children’s bicycles are flooded outside a home as Ezequiel Cruz retrieves belongings in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Pierre Ghantos, left, and his son Nathan paddle though their flooded neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Fort Myers, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Damaged houses are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, in the Florida Keys. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
Sandra Pagan, left, escapes the heat inside her home with her dog Goldo and nephew Misael Fernandez after Hurricane Irma flooded their neighborhood leaving them without power and impassable with their cars in Fort Myers, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. “It’s unbearable,” said Pagan who rode out the storm in the home with her family. “We can’t sleep at all. It’s so hot.” (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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