Hurricane Irma's march across Florida and into the Southeast triggered one of the bigger blackouts in U.S. history, plunging as many as 13 million people into the dark as the storm dragged down power lines and blew out transformers.
A stunning 13 million people, two-thirds of the third-largest state's residents, plodded on in the tropical heat without electricity, and nearly every corner of Florida felt Irma's power
With an estimated 127,000 huddling in shelters statewide, the storm lashed the low-lying string of islands with drenching rain and knocked out power to over 1 million customers even hundreds of miles from Irma's center.
As Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever with 185 mph churns its way towards South Florida the Red Cross New Jersey chapter sent 11 volunteers to stage in northeast Florida and Task Force 1 is on standby to deploy.