Irma leaves widespread devastation, flooding in Florida — live updates

Irma took a parting shot at Florida on Monday, triggering severe flooding in the state’s northeast corner while authorities along the storm’s 400-mile path struggled to get aid to victims and take a full measure of the damage.

The monster hurricane that hit the Florida Keys on Sunday as a Category 4 storm was downgraded to tropical storm status as it finally pushed its way out of the state and into Georgia, where it caused more misery. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Irma would continue moving over Georgia on Monday night before reaching Alabama Tuesday morning.

At least 10 people have lost their lives from Florida to South Carolina during the storm, most of them in vehicle accidents, but only three deaths have been blamed on Irma directly so far. Authorities in Georgia said Monday that the storm killed at least two people in that state, while Abbeville County Coroner Ronnie Ashley in South Carolina said Tropical Storm Irma’s winds had killed a man in Calhoun Falls who was struck by a limb as he cleaned up debris outside this home.

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The storm left dozens more dead as it tore across the Caribbean.

Nearly 7 million people in the Southeast were warned to evacuate, including 6.4 million in Florida alone.

Follow along below for live updates on the storm. All times are Eastern unless otherwise noted.


5:28 a.m.: Irma weakens to “post-tropical cyclone”

Irma lost its “tropical characteristics” overnight, prompting the National Hurricane Center to downgrade the storm to “post-tropical cyclone” status.

In the Center’s 5 a.m. Eastern update, it said Irma would continue plodding across the southeastern states toward the northwest at about 10 mph, approaching the Tennessee Valley by Tuesday afternoon.

The National Hurricane Center said Irma was expected to continue weakening throughout the day. Current sustained wind speeds in the storm, as of 5 a.m., were about 15 mph and it was dropping “generally moderate rain.”

At 5 a.m., Irma was centered about 65 miles southwest of Atlanta, Goergia.

4:36 a.m. Sept. 12: Fear of a messy reverse migration

After one of the largest storm evacuation efforts in U.S. history, and with Irma advancing inland, a potential reverse migration from across the Southeast back into Florida is looming, and it will bring its own risks and possible horror stories.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott urged more than 6.5 million Florida residents — one out of four of his constituents — to leave their homes as the storm bore down.

Now, all those people need to get back home, raising new worries of jammed roadways amid uncertain gasoline supplies, empty grocery store shelves, standing water and widespread power outages that in heavily damaged areas could last for weeks.

Scott cautioned evacuees not to rush back home.

“Storm impacts can continue well after the center passes,” the governor said from his official Twitter account, asking residents to follow local officials’ advice on when to return. He later retweeted FEMA’s warning that Irma involves “disruptions to daily activities” long after it passes.

10:55 p.m.: Irma weakens to tropical depression

The National Hurricane Center says Irma has weakened into a tropical depression, according to its 11 p.m. ET advisory.

The storm, located about 5 miles west of Columbus, Georgia, is still bringing heavy rain to the U.S. Southeast on Monday night.

Irma is expected to drop 2 to 5 inches of rain across South Carolina and northern portions of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

Irma’s top sustained winds are 35 mph, and it is moving northwest at 15 mph.

The hurricane center has discontinued all storm surge and tropical storm warnings.

8:36 p.m.: Aerial view of Key Largo shows Irma’s wrath

One of the hardest-hit places was the Florida Keys — the chain of low-lying islands off the southern tip of the Sunshine State. Officials said there is no electricity, no running water and no working sewage system in parts south of Key Largo, CBS News’ Elaine Quijano reports.

On Monday, an aerial view of devastation — the splintered homes and wind-tossed boats — was only matched by the scene on the ground. In the Lower Key areas, just 10 miles east of Irma’s landfall, the brute force of 130 mph winds and nearly 15 feet of storm surge easily destroyed Oceanside homes in Marathon and in Big Pine Key. Some homes were still smoldering from a fire that burned them to the ground.

Residents like Mike, a Marine reserve who was helping Houston recover from Harvey’s floods, came back to find destruction at his home.

“I got the walls up … going to have to rebuild it,” he told Qujano. “But hey, you live by the ocean … you got to take chances.”

8:18 p.m.: Officials urge residents stuck in their homes to call for help

Florida officials are urging residents who might still be stuck on the second floors of flooded homes to call for help.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said during a briefing Monday afternoon that people shouldn’t be trying to ride out the flooding that has followed Irma.

“This is not a one-day event,” Curry said. “This is probably a weeklong event. We’re going to have to see on a day-to-day basis.”

Curry says he hopes the city will move to recovery mode soon, but for now, they’re still in rescue mode.

National Weather Service meteorologist Angie Enyedi says flooding appears to have reached its maximum levels, but it could take several days for waters to recede to their normal levels.

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams says they’re still assessing damage to the beach bridges, and they’ll let residents know when it’s safe to return. He urged people not to line up at the bridges, because they’d only be blocking emergency vehicles.

7:32 p.m.: Hundreds of thousands without power in Georgia

At least 930,000 residents were without power in Georgia as of Monday night, according to a map by Georgia Power showing outages across the state.

The company said it would send teams to work in affected areas once Irma leaves. Restoration efforts could take several days or weeks. “Extensive damage & extended power outages expected to continue due to high winds & fallen trees,” it tweeted Monday.

7:24 p.m.: Rescuers fan out across Florida to save victims

CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz was in Orlo Vista, Florida, on Monday as residents were evacuated by rescue teams.

Barefoot children in blankets escaped waist-deep water with their only belongings in plastic bags. One puppy was found caged and alone in a house filling with water, Diaz reports.

Karland Gillens cheered at the site of first responders at his door. Fire and rescue officials tried to convince his parents to leave, but when they refused, crews marked the house as having three people still inside.

“I left because I know we needed food, we needed lights, it started getting hot in there. I was hoping to convince my mom to leave once I left,” Gillens told Diaz.

About 130 residents and their pets were rescued in Orange County in the aftermath of Irma, Diaz reports.

7:08 p.m.: Strong winds measured in Atlanta

A meteorologist says tropical storm-force winds were recorded at Atlanta’s airport as the still-strong remnants of Irma lashed Georgia.

Keith Stellman with the National Weather Service says the airport on Monday experienced sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts up to 64 mph.

The National Weather Service issued its first-ever tropical storm warning for Atlanta on Sunday.

Stellman said Atlanta previously experienced tropical storm-force winds in 1995 when Hurricane Opal slammed into the Florida panhandle, surged up through Alabama and hit Atlanta as a tropical storm. But the weather service didn’t issue tropical storm warnings for inland counties at that time, which is why Sunday was the first time Atlanta had a tropical storm warning.

6:03 p.m.: Satellite photos show Caribbean islands turned brown by Irma

NASA’s Operational Land Imager captured pictures from space of some of the islands in the Caribbean hit hardest by Irma. The photos show the Virgin Islands turned brown by Irma’s winds and rains:

What caused the islands to change color? NASA notes that “lush green tropical vegetation can be ripped away by a storm’s strong winds, leaving the satellite with a view of more bare ground.” The agency also raises the possibility that salt spray whipped up by the hurricane can coat and desiccate leaves while they are still on the trees.”

5:47 p.m.: Trump approves emergency declaration for Alabama

President Trump declared an emergency in Alabama Monday evening as Irma moves across Georgia and makes its way to the northwest.

Mr. Trump’s declaration frees up federal resources for disaster relief and authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate emergency operations in the state.

The move also provides access to direct financial assistance, with the federal government picking up 75 percent of the cost.

Mr. Trump had already declared a state of emergency in Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico.

5:08 p.m.: Second death reported in Georgia, officials say 

Officials are reporting a second death in Georgia related to Tropical Storm Irma.

Georgia Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Catherine Howden said the death was confirmed Monday in Sandy Springs, north of Atlanta. She had no further details.

The storm is also being blamed for the death of a 62-year-old man in rural southwest Georgia. Worth County sheriff’s spokeswoman Kannetha Clem said the man use a ladder to climb onto a shed Monday morning as sustained winds in the county exceeded 40 mph.

Clem says the man’s wife called 911 saying he suffered a heart attack, and first responders found his body lodged between two beams on the shed’s roof with debris on top of him.

The dead man’s name was not immediately released.

5:02 p.m.: Irma continues crawl across Georgia as wind speeds decrease

Irma’s maximum sustained wind speeds have decreased to 50 mph as it continues its march across Georgia.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says in its latest advisory that Irma remains a tropical storm and will likely weaken to become a tropical depression Tuesday.

The storm’s center is about 10 miles east of Albany, Georgia, moving north-northwest at 17 mph. The NHC expects Irma to move toward the northwest Tuesday morning as it moves into Alabama.

4:50 p.m.: Disney World reopening Tuesday

Disney World theme parks will reopen tomorrow at 9 a.m. as planned, Disney said in a statement. The parks closed on Saturday ahead of Irma.

Universal Orlando also said Monday that all three of its parks will reopen Tuesday morning. Universal’s facilities suffered relatively minor damage to fences, trees and building facades.

Sea World and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay said Monday that they assessing damage and would announce their reopening plans later. All three theme parks said they never lost power. Sea World also said all of its animals are safe.

4:37 p.m.: Tree falls on apartment building owned by South Carolina governor

As South Carolina’s governor was issuing warnings about Tropical Storm Irma for the state’s residents, the storm toppled a massive oak tree on an apartment building he owns.

Gov. Henry McMaster says the tree fell on a building he owns in Columbia around noon Monday.

McMaster says the college students living at the apartments are safe. The governor says “no one suspected it might fall,” but the tree destroyed two apartments in the two-story building.

The Columbia Fire Department says the fallen tree has left up to eight people without a home, but no one was injured.

3:56 p.m.: Authorities report 1st death in Georgia

Georgia officials say at least one person has been killed by Tropical Storm Irma.

Georgia Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Catherine Howden said Monday that one storm-related death has been confirmed in Worth County, about 170 miles south of Atlanta. She had no further details.

The county is located in southwest Georgia, where Irma’s center was churning northwestward toward Alabama on Monday afternoon. With tropical storm winds extending more than 400 miles from its center, Irma has caused damage across the state from trees falling on inland homes to flooding in neighborhoods on the Georgia coast.

3:27 p.m.: Florida homes may lack power for weeks

President Trump’s homeland security adviser said power could be down in some Florida homes for weeks in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Tom Bossert briefed reporters during Monday’s White House press briefing.

“I would caution people to be very patient here … we could have power down in homes for the coming weeks,” Bossert said.

Nearly 7.2 million homes and businesses were without power in multiple states.

The vast majority were in Florida. The state’s emergency management officials said the storm cut power to more than 6.5 million account holders across the state as of Monday afternoon.

Eric Silagy, the CEO of Florida Power & Light, said Irma caused the most widespread damage in the company’s history. It affected all 35 counties in the utility’s territory which is most of the state’s Atlantic coast and the Gulf coast south of Tampa. The most extensive damage was likely in the Naples area, but a full assessment was ongoing. He said 19,500 electric workers have been deployed in the restoration effort.

Still, he said, it will take days for many people to be restored and, in some cases where the damage was extensive, weeks.

Meanwhile, Duke Energy reported Monday morning that more than 860,000 of the homes and businesses it serves in Florida were without power.

Georgia reported more than 570,000 homes and businesses without electricity, and there were 80,000 in South Carolina.

2:56 p.m.: White House holds Irma briefing

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Tom Bossert, President Trump’s homeland security adviser, are briefing reporters on the federal government’s response to Irma. Watch the briefing in the player above.

2:52 p.m.: Electric companies get pollution waivers

State and federal environmental regulators have issued a blanket waiver for Florida electricity companies to violate clean air and water standards for the next two weeks.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced the decision in a letter issued Monday as Hurricane Irma blew through the state. The agency said the so-called No Action Assurance granted through Sept. 26 will provide Florida utility generators needed flexibility to maintain and restore electricity supplies.

The assurance letter will allow utilities to operate outside restrictions mandated by their permits, including potentially using dirtier fuels, running for longer hours or electively bypassing pollution-control equipment.

The Associated Press reported last week that air pollution levels spiked in the Houston area after a similar enforcement waiver was granted to petrochemical facilities ahead of Hurricane Harvey.

2:28 p.m.: Irma continues to slowly weaken

Tropical Storm Irma continues to slowly weaken as it moved into southern Georgia with the National Hurricane Center discontinuing three more coastal warnings.

Irma’s maximum sustained winds were down to 60 mph as the storm was about 50 miles south-southeast of Albany, Georgia, and about 55 miles east of Tallahassee early Monday afternoon. It’s moving north-northwest at 17 mph.

Forecasters expect Irma’s center to continue moving over southwestern Georgia Monday and then into Alabama Tuesday morning and eventually western Tennessee.

Irma was also expected to become a tropical depression on Tuesday.

Northern Florida and southern Georgia should keep getting soaked, with rain totals eventually accumulating to 8 to 15 inches. Isolated parts of central Georgia, eastern Alabama and southern South Carolina may get up to 10 inches of rain.

1:41 p.m.: Elderly person dies during storm; family rescued in vehicle

An elderly person south of Jacksonville died overnight as Hurricane Irma lashed Florida, the police said.

St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said at a press conference Monday that the death happened while an elderly couple was trying to protect themselves from floodwaters.

“One of them suffered what we believe to be a heart attack, and of course that’s devastating for all of us,” Shoar said.

The sheriff also said that he other first responders helped rescue a family from a vehicle in the St. Augustine South area.

The family was trying to evacuate the area at about 2 a.m.

“It was very difficult to reach them at that dynamic moment because of the onslaught of water, the trees coming down,” Shoar said. “It was very, very dangerous, and I gotta tell you I get a little emotional thinking about it. I wish we all had body cameras on that, but I will tell you when you see cops and you see firefighters out there up to their necks in water trying to save our citizens it resonates.”

The sheriff said one family member was injured. No other details were provided.

Shoar urged people to stay off the roads Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

12:09 p.m.: People near Jacksonville river told to evacuate

Jacksonville, Florida, authorities are telling residents near the St. Johns River to leave quickly as floodwaters rise.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office warned people in evacuation zones A and B along the St. Johns River to “Get out NOW.”

They say the river is at historic flood levels and likely to get worse at high tide around 2 p.m.

On social media, the sheriff’s office told those who need help evacuating to “put a white flag in front of your house. A t-shirt, anything white.”

Rescue teams were ready to deploy.

11:35 a.m.: Irma gradually losing its punch over Florida

Tropical Storm Irma is gradually losing its strength as it sloshes through northern Florida with the National Hurricane Center discontinuing four storm surge and tropical storm warnings.

Irma’s maximum sustained winds were down to 65 mph as the storm was about 70 miles east of Tallahassee late Monday morning. It’s moving north northwest at 17 mph.

Forecasters expect Irma’s center to move into southwestern Georgia later Monday and then into Alabama Tuesday morning and eventually western Tennessee.

Northern Florida and southern Georgia should keep getting soaked, with rain totals eventually accumulating to 8 to 15 inches. Isolated parts of central Georgia, eastern Alabama and southern South Carolina may get up to 10 inches of rain.

11:05 a.m.: In Shanksville, Pence says “new citizen heroes” being forged in Irma’s wake

At a Pennsylvania memorial honoring passengers who attempted to regain control of a hijacked airliner during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Vice President Mike Pence said “new citizen heroes” were being forged in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Pence said the nation’s hearts and prayers were with Americans in Florida and throughout the region who suffered loss from the storm.

“At this very hour, first responders and new citizen heroes are being forged among the people of Florida,” the vice president said at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville.

Pence reiterated support from him and President Trump for Irma’s victims.

“We are with you,” Pence said. “We will stay with you, and we will be with you every day after this tempest passes to restore, recover and rebuild.”

10:39 a.m.: Irma kills 10 in Cuba, state media says

Cuban state news media says 10 people died across the island as it was being battered by Hurricane Irma.

Most of them died in Havana, where chest-deep seawater pushed several blocks into densely populated neighborhoods.

State media says several of the deaths occurred in partial building collapses. Much of Cuba‘s housing stock is deteriorating.

10:18 a.m.: Trump calls Irma, Harvey “storms of catastrophic severity”

At a Pentagon ceremony remembering victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, President Trump began his remarks by saying that the nation’s prayers were with people in the path of the remnants of Hurricane Irma and those still suffering from Hurricane Harvey.

“These are storms of catastrophic severity, and we’re marshaling the full resources of the federal government to help our fellow Americans in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee and all of those wonderful places and states in harm’s way,” Mr. Trump said.

The president said that Americans pull together when their fellow Americans are in need.

“When we face hardship, we emerge closer, stronger and more determined than ever,” Mr. Trump said.

Later in the morning, Vice President Mike Pence was expected to speak at a ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, near where one of the airliners hijacked in 2001 was downed as passengers tried to regain control of the plane from terrorists.

9:40 a.m.: As Irma hits U.S., Trump remembers 9/11 victims

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have arrived at the Pentagon, where a ceremony was being held to remember the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Shortly after arriving, Mr. Trump laid a wreath in honor of the victims killed at the Pentagon. The president and first lady earlier held a moment of silence at the White House.

Mr. Trump was expected to deliver remarks along with Defense Secretary James Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford. You can watch their remarks in the player above.

8:56 a.m.: Irma leaves nearly 4.5 million in the dark

Nearly 4.5 million homes and businesses across Florida have lost power as Irma moves over the state.

And utility officials say it will take weeks to restore electricity to everyone. Farther north, more than 100,000 are in the dark in Georgia.

Much of eastern Alabama and coastal South Carolina are under tropical storm warnings as Irma pummels Florida, weakening on its march northward.

8:13 a.m.: Irma weakens to tropical storm

Irma has weakened to a tropical storm as it moves over Florida toward southern Georgia.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds decreased Monday morning to near 70 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says it’s expected to weaken to a tropical depression by Tuesday afternoon.

Irma is centered about 105 miles north-northwest of Tampa, Florida, and is moving north-northwest near 18 mph.

7:10 a.m.: Irma hits air travel hard

Hurricane Irma is wreaking havoc on air transport around Florida and the Caribbean. According to the FlightAware website, a total of 13,136 flights to and from airports in Florida and the Caribbean have been cancelled this month, with 9,483 cancellations in Florida alone.

Many of south and central Florida’s airports, including the massive international hub in Miami, were closed early Monday to all but military and emergency flights. Other airports closed, according to FlightAware, were:

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said Monday morning that while the city hadn’t escaped Hurricane Irma’s wrath, the situation wasn’t as bad as they had feared. Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Buckhorn said “What we thought was going to be a punch in the face was a glancing blow.”

Buckhorn did say there were a lot of downed power lines and debris, and he expected power to be out for some sections of Tampa for at least a couple more days.

Nearly 4.5 million homes and businesses across Florida lost power, and utility officials said it would take weeks to restore electricity to everyone. More than 100,000 were in the dark in Georgia.

6:14 a.m.: Category 1 Irma climbs Florida coast 

A Hurricane Warning was still in effect as of 5 a.m. Eastern time on Monday morning for Sebastian Inlet on Florida’s northwest coast to Fernandina Beach, and from Anclote River to Indian Pass.

Further south, Tampa Bay and surrounding areas were still under a Storm Surge Warning.

A lingering Tropical Storm Warning in the Florida Keys was finally lifted on Monday morning, as it was in many other areas in the hard-hit southern part of the state.

5:19 a.m.: House-to-house searches today in Florida Keys 

Bryan Koon, Florida’s emergency management director, said late Sunday that authorities had only scattered information about Hurricane Irma storm’s toll in the state.

“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 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.

2:38 a.m., Sept. 11: Irma downgraded to Category 1 near Tampa

Irma weakened to a Category 1 storm as the massive hurricane zeroed in on the Tampa Bay region early Monday after hammering much of Florida with roof-ripping winds, gushing floodwaters and widespread power outages.

The hurricane’s maximum sustained winds weakened to 85 mph with additional weakening expected.

As of 2 a.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 25 miles northeast of Tampa and moving north-northwest near 15 mph.

More than 160,000 people waited in shelters statewide early on Monday morning.

11 p.m.: Hurricane Irma nears Tampa as Category 2 storm

Hurricane Irma remains a dangerous Category 2 hurricane despite weakening a bit more to 100 mph. It’s now bearing down on the Tampa-St. Petersburg region.

NHC released its latest advisory to report that Irma’s eye is about 50 miles southeast of Tampa and moving at a fast clip of 14 mph. Still a large hurricane, its tropical storm force winds extend out 415 miles.

Forecasters say they expert Irma’s center to stay inland over Florida and then move into Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

They also expect Irma to weaken further into a tropical storm over far northern Florida or southern Georgia on Monday as it speeds up its forward motion. The hurricane center says the storm is still life-threatening with dangerous storm surge, wind and heavy rains.

10:52 p.m.: University of Tampa students hunker down in dorms

CBS News correspondent Don Champion spoke with students from the University of Tampa who decided to stay in their dormitories throughout Hurricane Irma because the facilities were rated for Category 5 storms and they felt very safe.

Gusts have been reported up to 50 mph and officials are expecting a storm surge for up to 6 feet. This is a city that is very flood prone so city officials are warning folks that the threat from Irma is far from over, Champion reports.

Hurricane Irma: Two-thirds of Florida without power

About 6.5 million homes in Florida, two-thirds of the total, are without power after Hurricane Irma cut a deadly path through the state, officials say.

Relief operations are under way and engineers are working to restore power, but many areas remain stranded.

The islands of the Florida Keys and western parts of the US state bore the brunt of the category-four hurricane.

Irma hit Florida on Sunday and weakened to a tropical storm before becoming a tropical depression early on Tuesday.

The storm was downgraded as it moved north towards Atlanta, with maximum sustained winds of 56km/h (35mph) later recorded, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a statement.

The NHC statement added that while heavy rain was expected to continue across south-eastern states, all storm surge and tropical storm warnings had been discontinued.

Media reports link at least four deaths to the storm in Florida. Last week it killed at least 37 people in Caribbean islands.

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    White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert said it will be some time before residents in the Florida Keys are able to return to their homes.

    “I would expect that the Keys are not fit for re-entry for regular citizenry for weeks”, he said.

    Speaking as he went on an aerial tour of the Keys, Florida Governor Rick Scott said: “Power lines are down throughout the state. We’ve got roads that are impassable, so everybody’s got to be patient as we work through this.”

    The Keys are cut off from the mainland, as the 42 bridges that link them are being assessed for damage. Reports say that 10,000 people decided to ride out the storm.

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      How big will the disaster response be?

      Although Miami was spared the worst, large parts of the city are under water. Winds have snapped power lines and 72% of homes there are without electricity, officials say.

      On the west coast of Florida, drone footage from Naples, a town on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico about 125 miles (200km) to the north-west, shows rows of shattered suburban homes on streets under water.

      President Donald Trump has released emergency federal aid for Florida, describing the hurricane as a “big monster”.

      • UK plan to bolster hurricane relief effort
      • Cuba stunned and suffering

      How have residents felt the impact?

      “We feel the building swaying all the time,” restaurant owner Deme Lomas told Reuters news agency by phone from his 35th-floor apartment in Miami.

      At least four deaths have been connected to the storm:

      • Two police officers died when their vehicles collided in Hardee County in central Florida
      • A person died in a single-car crash near Orlando
      • A man died in the town of Marathon in the Florida Keys when his vehicle hit a tree on Saturday

        Some 6.3 million people in the state were told to evacuate before Irma arrived.

        Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport were closed on Monday.

        Night-time curfews have been imposed in areas such as Miami, where 13 people were arrested on suspicion of looting.

        • The deadly danger from Miami’s ubiquitous cranes

          Which areas were hit before Florida?

          Irma is the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade, and caused widespread destruction on several Caribbean islands:

          • Cuba: At least 10 people were killed by the storm on the island, officials say. Three quarters of the population are without power
          • St Martin and St Barthelemy: Six out of 10 homes on St Martin, an island shared between France and the Netherlands, are now uninhabitable, French officials say. Nine people had died and seven were missing in the French territories, while four are known to have died in Dutch Sint-Maarten
          • Turks and Caicos Islands: Widespread damage, although extent unclear
          • Barbuda: The small island is said to be “barely habitable”, with 95% of the buildings damaged. One death has been confirmed
          • Anguilla: Extensive damage with one person confirmed dead
          • Puerto Rico: More than 6,000 residents of the US territory are in shelters and many more without power. At least three people have died
          • British Virgin Islands: Widespread damage reported, and five dead
          • US Virgin Islands: Damage to infrastructure was said to be widespread, with four deaths confirmed
            Another hurricane, Jose, has been weakening over the western Atlantic, with swells due to affect parts of Hispaniola (the island split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic), the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, later this week.

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Posted in BBC

Hurricane Irma: Florida to re-open storm-ravaged Keys

Parts of the Florida Keys, the low-lying islands which bore the brunt of Hurricane Irma when the category-four storm struck on Sunday, are to re-open.

Entry is being restricted to residents and business owners as work continues to clear roads and check the state of bridges linking the islands.

Some 60% of homes in the state are still without power.

Irma, which has since rapidly weakened, is being linked to 10 deaths in the United States.

Six people died in Florida, three in Georgia and one in South Carolina.

The storm also left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean, where at least 37 people were killed.

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived to see the storm damage for himself, while the UK’s Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, is heading to the British Virgin Islands.

Both France and Britain have been criticised for not doing enough to help their nationals in overseas territories affected by the hurricane.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander spent Monday night on the Dutch side of St Martin, an island shared between France and the Netherlands.

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“Even from the plane I saw something I have never seen before,” the Dutch royal told the NOS public newscaster. “I have seen proper war as well as natural disasters before, but I’ve never seen anything like this”.

“Everywhere you look there’s devastation, you see the collapse,” he added.

‘It’s horrible’

Florida Governor Rick Scott used the same word – “devastation” – after flying over the Keys on Monday.

“I just hope everybody survived,” he said. “It’s horrible what we saw. Especially for the Keys, it’s going to be a long road.

“We saw a lot of boats washed ashore and we saw any, basically, any trailer park there overturned.”

Thousands of people are believed to have ignored calls to evacuate last week, and clung on in the dangerously exposed islands during the storm.

However, Governor Scott added: “I didn’t see the damage I thought I would see.” Storm surges had turned out to be “not as bad as we thought”, he said.

Teams are still working to clear Highway 1, the road connecting most of the inhabited islands, and bridge inspections are continuing.

People with authorisation are being allowed into the towns of Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada from 07:00 (11:00 GMT), the authorities in Monroe Country said.

They were warned that services on the islands were limited: most areas were still without power and water, mobile phone signals were patchy and most petrol stations were still closed.

The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln has arrived off Florida and other navy ships are due in the area on Tuesday to help distribute food to the Keys and evacuate residents.

Relief in Miami

Other parts of the state escaped the storm lightly compared to the Caribbean islands.

“The storm surge flooding in Miami is a mere fraction of what would have happened if the core of the storm had been further east,” Rick Knabb, former director of the National Hurricane Center, said in a tweet.

Miami’s Mayor, Carlos Gimenez, was relieved the damage was no worse.

“We were spared the brunt of this storm,” he said. “We came out much better than other parts of the state and we have to thank God for that.”

Returning to her home in Miami’s Little Haiti neighbourhood, evacuee Melida Hernandez, 67, found her home split down the middle by a tree.

“I wanted to cry, but this is what it is, this is life,” she told Reuters news agency.

President Donald Trump has released emergency federal aid for Florida, describing the hurricane as a “big monster”.

The storm was downgraded as it moved north towards Atlanta, Georgia, with maximum sustained winds of 35mph (56km/h) recorded, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a statement.

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Which areas were hit before Florida?

Irma has been the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade, and caused widespread destruction on several Caribbean islands:

  • Cuba: At least 10 people were killed by the storm on the island, officials say. Three quarters of the population are without power
  • St Martin and St Barthelemy: Six out of 10 homes on St Martin, an island shared between France and the Netherlands, are now uninhabitable, French officials say. Nine people had died and seven were missing in the French territories, while four are known to have died in Dutch Sint-Maarten
  • Turks and Caicos Islands: Widespread damage, although extent unclear
  • Barbuda: The small island is said to be “barely habitable”, with 95% of the buildings damaged. One death has been confirmed
  • Anguilla: Extensive damage with one person confirmed dead
  • Puerto Rico: More than 6,000 residents of the US territory are in shelters and many more without power. At least three people have died
  • British Virgin Islands: Widespread damage reported, and five dead
  • US Virgin Islands: Damage to infrastructure was said to be widespread, with four deaths confirmed
    Another hurricane, Jose, has been weakening over the western Atlantic, with swells due to affect parts of Hispaniola (the island split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic), the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, later this week.

    • UK plan to bolster hurricane relief effort
    • Cuba stunned and suffering
    • ‘Island looks like a bomb site’
Posted in BBC

North Korea: Nato chief says global response needed

Nato’s general secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, has said North Korea’s nuclear programme “is a global threat and requires a global response”.

“That of course also includes Nato,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

But he refused to say whether an attack on the US overseas territory of Guam would trigger the military alliance’s collective defence pact.

Article 5 of the Nato treaty says that an attack against one member is considered an attack against all.

Guam, an island territory of the US in the Pacific Ocean, is a key military outpost and has been the subject of heated rhetoric from Pyongyang.

  • North Korea crisis in 300 words
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“I will not speculate about whether Article 5 will be applied in such a situation,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

“What I will say is that we are now totally focused on how can we contribute to a peaceful solution of the conflict and press North Korea to stop its nuclear missile programmes.”

He called on North Korea to stop its development of nuclear weapons, saying it was a blatant violation of UN security resolutions and “a threat to international peace and stability”.

Media captionNato’s Jens Stoltenberg: N Korea response “of course includes Nato”

Nato has condemned Pyongyang’s tests but, as a military alliance, is not directly involved in the related diplomacy.

The comments from Mr Stoltenberg come as members of the UN Security Council differ on how to deal with the crisis following North Korea’s latest missile test over Japan.

The US has drafted a resolution to increase sanctions and cut off some of the last remaining sources of income for Pyongyang, as well as imports of oil.

Russia, however, has expressed scepticism about more sanctions, which have had little effect so far.

Media captionHow would war with North Korea unfold?

Appearing separately on the same programme as Mr Stoltenberg, British defence minister Michael Fallon said the US would have a right to ask other members of the United Nations to join any defence of its territory – but that should be avoided.

“What we have to avoid at all cost is the spilling over in to any kind of military conflict,” he said.

“So we’re working flat out at the United Nations to get a better resolution there, to enforce the existing sanctions. We are looking at sanctions across the European Union and of course we are trying to persuade China to keep its neighbour in check.”

Analysts believe a military conflict with North Korea would be devastating for both Pyongyang and South Korea; and some say that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seeking a nuclear deterrent rather than planning for open war.

Posted in BBC

Toronto Film Festival: George Clooney ‘felt sick’ shooting Suburbicon

George Clooney has said he “felt sick” while directing some scenes in his new movie Suburbicon.

The film’s plot sees a black family move into a predominantly white suburban community in the 1950s.

“The trickiest part [of shooting] was, we were in a very racially diverse neighbourhood in Fullerton, California,” Clooney said.

“And we had about 350 extras who were going to hurl a lot of racial slurs and say a lot of pretty terrible things.”

Clooney added: “Everybody who was making the film, we all just felt sick while we were doing it.”

Image copyright TIFF
Image caption Julianne Moore and Matt Damon (pictured) star in Suburbicon

Referring to the way the family is treated in the film, the director said: “These are things that happened – [neighbours] sang church hymns, they hung confederate flags over the fence, they built a fence around their house, these are things that really happened.

“But it was sickening to be part of it quite honestly, so that was one of the most difficult things to shoot.”

The movie, which is currently showing as part of the Toronto Film Festival, was conceived during the run up to the US election of November 2016, which was won by Donald Trump.

Clooney said: “We’d seen some things on the campaign trail where they were talking about building fences, and scapegoating Mexicans and Muslims, and we’re always reminded that these aren’t new things and new moments in our history.

“So we thought it would be interesting to talk about it, but we wanted the film to be entertaining, not a documentary, we didn’t want it to be an eat-your-spinach piece of filmmaking.

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption L-R: Karimah Westbrook, George Clooney, Julianne Moore and Matt Damon

“So we merged it with [an existing Coen Brothers script] Suburbicon, because we thought it was a funnier idea to put it in the suburbs in the 1950s where we all thought everything was perfect – if you were a white straight male.”

The actor and director said the real-life political climate the film was shot in ultimately altered the tone of the movie.

“While we were shooting, Trump was elected, and it changed the temperature of the film in a weird way,” Clooney explained.

“The country got angrier, whichever side you were on. We had to cut some of Josh Brolin’s scenes out, and one of the reasons is they were really slapstick funny, and it felt like the wrong tone suddenly.”

The film stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Karimah Westbrook – who drew parallels between her character (the mother of the African-American family) and her own experience of the entertainment industry.

“I think early on there was a lot of correlations as far as what I’ve experienced in Hollywood,” she said.

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Karimah Westbrook said diversity in Hollywood had improved more recently

“I wore my hair natural for a very long time, so when I first moved to Hollywood I had an afro, and my manager said ‘You’ll never work with your hair like that, you’ll have to straighten it’.

“I struggled with that for years, my looks, my hair… but I feel like things have changed so much in the industry, we have so many African-American women starring in shows now, so I feel there’s been progress, but there’s still a lot of things we’re facing on both sides.”

Posted in BBC

Hurricane Irma: Survivors on Tortola want more UK help

The BBC’s Paul Blake and Laura Bicker report from the British Virgin Islands, where Hurricane Irma’s force has destroyed communities, and left at least five people dead.

The flight into the island of Tortola should feature sweeping views of lush green hillsides and translucent-blue bays. Today it looks like the victim of a bomb blast.

On approach to the airport on Saturday, boats could be seen piled on top of one another like children’s toys. Others laid lop-sided on dry ground or semi-submerged offshore.

A car ride to the governor’s office gave a street-level view of the destruction. Many neighbourhoods have been flattened, their residents can be seen trying to cook and clean amidst the rubble.

Hill sides were strewn with debris and dotted by houses disembowelled by the storms powerful winds.

Around them, the earth looked scorched – not by fire, but by wind and water that has ripped away vegetation.

Power lines snaked across roads while residents drove over them in vehicles with blown-out windows.

Residents recalled the storm with horror, with many believing that the hurricane had spun off tornadoes, which then cut through buildings like a jigsaw.

As they tried to assess the damage, many asked with trepidation about Hurricane Jose – a smaller storm loosely following Irma’s path – and whether it was coming their way.

Media captionHurricane Irma: ‘My roof blew off – I lost everything’

We met one survivor who was still trying to comprehend what had happened to his home. Arron Glasgow says he and his brother were fighting to keep the wind out when the roof suddenly blew off.

Standing in what used to be the family’s living room, he says “I’ve lost everything. What you see me have on – perhaps one other shirt – is what I have.”

Flipped cars and boats in the street meant driving was slow and treacherous.

Downed trees and power poles were buttressed by flimsy boards so that cars passed underneath.

With stagnant water pooling in the streets and a decimated utility system, there is now a concern that disease and other public health threats could emerge.

Image copyright Paul Blake/BBC
Image caption There is a shortage of basic supplies such as gasoline, food and water
Image copyright Paul Blake/BBC

Some residents have criticised the UK government’s response as “pathetic and slow”. British troops have now arrived to help.

The Royal Engineers and Commandos co-ordinated by Joint Force Headquarters have retrofitted the arrivals lounge into something of a home base, where they are organising security and recovery operations.

Mid-afternoon on Saturday, those operations came into full swing with the arrival of a Royal Air Force A400M transport aircraft. As the massive prop plane came to a halt, its rear hatch cracked open.

Image caption Troops arrived on the island of Tortola on Saturday
Image caption British troops are using Tortola’s airport arrivals lounge as a home base

Dozens of soldiers jogged out with gear that is being used to establish a sort of base of operations inside the arrivals lounge.

Over the coming days they’ll be working to reinstate law and order on the island and help jump-start the recovery process.

At the governor’s mansion, British soldiers were working to establish satellite communications with the outside world, while Brigadier John Ridge was liaising with governor Gus Jaspert about what operations needed to be prioritised.

At a local police station – we are told – British Army commandos are working with officers to try and re-establish control after reports of looting. For his part, the governor has imposed an overnight curfew to keep criminality at bay.

Posted in BBC

Russian Zapad military exercise in Belarus raises tension

It is being billed as a military exercise, but when Russian and Belarusian forces start Zapad-2017 this week, many neighbouring countries will be looking on nervously.

Zapad-2017 (“West-2017”) is a joint strategic-level exercise involving Russian and Belarusian military forces, expected to begin on 14 September in Russia’s western military district Kaliningrad, and across Belarus.

It is scheduled to last about a week, but may well go on for longer. The exercise is part of a four-year rolling cycle of manoeuvres that focus each year on one broad region or “front” (“West”, “Eastern”, “Central” or “Caucasus”). This year’s Zapad exercise though is drawing much greater attention than did its predecessor in 2013.

The context has changed significantly. Russia has seized and annexed Crimea; it has supported a separatist war in eastern Ukraine with weaponry, training and, for periods, its own combat units. Russia is thus seen by several Nato countries as much more threatening.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has described Russia’s build-up for the exercise as “preparations for an offensive war on a continental scale”. Ukrainian border defences, he said, are being bolstered.

He also pointed to the fact that in his view, Russia has form here, using the pretext of an exercise to mobilise and position forces to conduct offensive operations. President Poroshenko said he could not rule out the possibility that the drill “may be used as a smokescreen to create new Russian army assault groups to invade Ukrainian territory”.

Image copyright EPA
Image caption Pantsir anti-aircraft missile: Russian and foreign troops competed in army games last month

Units on the move

Nato watchers and insiders do not necessarily share this concern about an all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Russia expert Keir Giles, a fellow at Chatham House think tank, acknowledges that “previous Russian exercises on this scale have prepositioned troops for undertaking military operations, against Georgia in 2008 and against Ukraine in 2014”.

However, he says, “both of those moves were precipitated by an immediate political crisis – currently absent in Europe.

“And there have been plenty of other major Russian exercises in between,” he says, “which did not end up with somebody getting invaded”.

US backs Baltics against Russia ‘threat’

Nato fears fast-moving Russian troops

Eastern Ukraine: A new, bloody chapter

Russia’s information warfare in Europe

Nonetheless, the fear of a resurgent and more aggressive Russia is real enough. That is why, over the past year, Nato has sent small multi-national units to Poland and to each of the three Baltic republics to underline its deterrent message. And that is why this year’s war games will be watched so closely.

Just how closely is a contentious issue. Russia, unlike Belarus, has been far more reluctant to invite Western observers in any number. This despite the fact that, as a member of the OSCE international security body, it is obliged to send out broad invitations if an exercise numbers more than 13,000 troops.

Mr Giles notes that, while Russia may be “content to see Europe alarmed at the prospect of Moscow throwing its military weight around”, Belarus seeks instead to calm the situation. The siting of the exercise in ranges across the middle of the country – not near the Polish and Lithuanian borders – was a deliberate policy decision intended to reduce the chances of misinterpretation, or incidents when Russian troops and aircraft come close to Nato borders.

Image copyright AFP
Image caption This Polish F-16 is part of a Nato air-policing mission over the Baltic states (Aug 2017 photo)

Belarus has been much more open towards international observers. Clearly satellites, airborne radars and other national intelligence collection measures will be used by Nato countries.

In addition, efforts are under way to mobilise concerned citizens in Belarus to observe military movements in their area and post them online for the benefit of non-government, open-source analysts and experts.

How many troops?

So just how big is this exercise and what will Western analysts and observers be watching for? Here assessments differ widely.

The Russians say some 12,700 troops will be involved in total, including a significant contingent from Belarus. (Notice this takes it below the 13,000 OSCE threshold.)

Western experts watching the preparations, especially the marshalling of railway flat-cars – the main way of moving heavy armoured formations to the exercise areas – say it will be considerably more.

Image copyright AFP
Image caption Russia has stepped up snap military manoeuvres (March 2015 photo)

Some estimates suggest that up to 80,000 troops could be involved, but since there are a range of drills, exercises and spot mobilisations it is hard to be precise about numbers.

Russia will be testing its capacity to contain and respond to some form of outside aggression and will be deploying units from different services: heavy armour; airborne troops; “spetsnaz” elite reconnaissance teams; and electronic warfare specialists.

The Baltic Fleet will be involved, as will units from the 14th Corps based in Kaliningrad. One point of interest may be the part played at the tactical and strategic levels of “information operations troops” – a relatively new formation in the Russian order of battle.

Indeed, while there may be much to learn about Russia’s use of artillery, its capability in electronic warfare (already manifest in the fighting in Ukraine) and the growing importance of precision-guided munitions in Russia’s thinking, it may be this information aspect that is most important. For beyond the troop movements, Zapad-2017 is part of a wider propaganda effort to influence and shape opinion in the West.

Atmosphere of suspicion

The US analyst Michael Kofman in a fascinating piece on the War on the Rocks website, describes Zapad as “a good window into the Russian mindset.

“For all the modernisation and transformation of the Russian armed forces,” he writes, “in reality the Russian leadership is probably still afraid: afraid the United States will try to make a bid for Belarus, afraid of American technological and economic superiority, afraid the US seeks regime change in Moscow, and afraid Washington desires the complete fragmentation of Russian influence in its near abroad, or even worse, Russia itself.”

“Zapad,” he argues, “is the most coherent manifestation of these fears, and a threat from Moscow to the United States about what it might do if the worst should come to pass.”

And what of those lingering fears in some quarters that this could be much more than just an exercise? Mr Giles remains unconvinced by much of the media hyperbole surrounding Zapad.

But he has this caution: “The time to watch troop deployments most closely,” he says, “is likely to be after the exercise proper has ended.”

The final day of Zapad is 20 September but, he notes, “Russian troops are only scheduled to leave Belarus by 30 September – after the observers have departed, and when the media interest will have died down. That will be the time to decide whether Zapad this year has in fact passed off peacefully.”

Posted in BBC

News Daily: Irma hits Florida and police pay rise

Irma continues through Florida

After making its way through the Caribbean, causing death and destruction, Hurricane Irma has hit Florida. It’s brought winds of up to 120mph (192km/h), leaving 3.4 million homes in the US state without power, while parts of the city of Miami are under water.

Irma has been downgraded from a category three to a category two storm, but that will provide little comfort to the three million people living in the Tampa Bay area, which it is approaching. Some 6.3 million people in Florida were told to evacuate ahead of Irma’s arrival and US President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration and emergency federal aid for the state.

You can follow the latest developments as Irma continues its journey through the US using our live page.

Police and prison officer pay cap to be lifted

Since 2013 pay rises for most public sector workers have been capped at 1% per year. But the BBC understands that the restriction is to be lifted for the first time for police and prison officers. Political correspondent Iain Watson said it was the “first concrete example of the pay cap being dismantled”. Other public sector workers may get the same news soon, it’s understood. Unions, Labour and some Conservative MPs have been calling for the cap to go.

MPs warned against Brexit ‘chaos’

MPs will vote later on the government bill which aims to end EU law’s supremacy in the UK. Labour is opposing the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, claiming that it allows ministers too much power to act without consulting Parliament. But Brexit Secretary David Davis is warning that not backing the legislation would lead to a “chaotic” Brexit. The bill would also convert all existing EU laws into domestic ones, to ensure there are no gaps in legislation after the UK leaves.

A foldable gift from China

By Tim Harford, BBC World Service

The Book of the Marvels of the World was full of strange foreign customs that Marco Polo claimed to have seen. But there was one that was so extraordinary, he could barely contain himself. “Tell it how I might,” he wrote, “you never would be satisfied that I was keeping within truth and reason.” What had excited Marco so much? He was one of the first Europeans to witness an invention that remains at the foundation of the modern economy: paper money.

Read the full article

What the papers say

“Irma tears up Florida,” says the i, as most of the newspapers concentrate on the hurricane’s deadly effect on the south-eastern US. The Financial Times shows a street under water, reporting that it could take weeks to restore power in some areas. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail quotes the families of British people stranded in the Caribbean saying they feel their relatives have been “abandoned” by the UK government. Meanwhile, the Guardian says a United Nations report finds ministers are “flouting” their duty to protect citizens from illegal and dangerous levels of air pollution.

Posted in BBC

Unknown species may thrive in Antarctic caves

Animals and plants may be living in warm caves under Antarctica’s ice, according to a study.

Australian researchers said that Mount Erebus, an active volcano on Antarctica’s Ross Island, is surrounded by caves hollowed out in the ice by steam.

Soil samples retrieved from the caves have revealed intriguing traces of DNA from mosses, algae and small animals.

The research has been published in the journal Polar Biology.

“It can be really warm inside the caves – up to 25C in some caves. You could wear a T-shirt in there and be pretty comfortable,” said co-author Dr Ceridwen Fraser, from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.

“There’s light near the cave mouths, and light filters deeper into some caves where the overlying ice is thin.”

Dr Fraser said that most of the DNA resembles that found in plants and animals from the rest of Antarctica. But that some sequences couldn’t be fully identified.

Co-researcher Prof Craig Cary, from the University of Waikato in New Zealand, said previous research had found that a range of bacteria and fungi lived in Antarctica’s volcanic caves.

“The findings from this new study suggest there might be higher plants and animals as well,” Prof Cary explained.

But Prof Laurie Connell, a co-author from the University of Maine, said the results did not confirm plants and animals were still living in the caves.

“The next steps will be to take a closer look at the caves and search for living organisms. If they exist, it opens the door to an exciting new world,” she explained.

There are a number of other volcanoes across Antarctica, the researchers pointed out, so sub-glacial cave systems could be common across the continent.

 

Posted in BBC

Four jailed for raping girl, 16, in Ramsgate

Three men and a boy raped a girl who had asked them for directions when she got lost on a night out with friends.

The girl, 16, who cannot be named, was trying to get to a friend’s house in Ramsgate, Kent, when she was attacked and then dumped on the street.

They fulfilled their “depraved sexual desires” on the 16-year-old girl, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

Three of the men were each jailed for 14 years each and a 17-year-old boy was jailed for seven years.

The girl was found crying in the street by two people returning from a night out.

Rafiullah Hamidy, 24, of High Street, Herne Bay, Shershah Muslimyar, 21, of Hovenden Close, Canterbury, Tamin Rahmani, 38, of Northwood Road, Ramsgate, and the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all denied rape but were found guilty by a jury in May.

‘Prolonged and degrading

Sentencing, Judge Heather Norton said the girl had been trying to make her way on foot back to a friend’s house having missed the last train home, and was “young, drunk, disorientated and vulnerable”.

She said the girl thought the four were going to help her, but instead they “took her up to a bedroom, pushed her on to a mattress and repeatedly raped her” over a sustained period.

Judge Norton said the girl had been clear that while she was being raped, others were in the room watching.

Describing it as a prolonged attack in degrading circumstances, she told the defendants: “This was an appalling and repeated gang rape of a vulnerable girl who had sought your assistance.”

They attacked the girl at Rahmani’s home in the early hours of 18 September 2016.

He owns 555 Pizza and Kebab in Northwood Road, Ramsgate, and is in the UK under a spousal visa.

Hamidy fled to Taranto in southern Italy after the attack where he was detained by local officers.

He was returned to the UK following an extradition hearing and taken into custody at Heathrow Airport on 28 March.

After the hearing, Det Insp Richard Vickery said the men “saw an opportunity to fulfil their depraved sexual desires and betrayed the trust she placed in them in the worst possible way”.

Posted in BBC