Even though hurricane Irma got weaker, it still left a trail of devastation that killed five people and flooded major cities, leaving millions without power

Fortunately, on Monday night, Irma downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression. It is expected to turn toward Alabama, and then into western Tennessee.

Even thought the storm is not as powerful as it was, it is still expected to bring heavy rainfall across a widespread area, as it flooded parts of coastal Georgia and South Carolina, on Monday. Because of the stormy conditions, Delta was forced to cancel 1,100 flights in its Atlanta hub.

Irma stretched 650 miles from east to west and affected at least nine states; it turned streets into rivers, ripped down power lines, uprooted trees and cur off coastal communities. Jacksonville had a record storm surge on Monday, which forced the Coast Guard to deploy boats to rescue residents.

Moreover, evacuees in Florida were anxious to go back and see how their homes were affected by the storm. However, officials strongly suggest not to.

“Check with local officials before returning home to make sure you can safely do so,” said Gov. Rick Scott on Monday. “Don’t think just because this thing passed, you can run home. We’ve got downed power lines all across the state. We’ve got roads that are impassible still across the state. We’ve got debris all over the state.”

Source: cnn.com