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Hurricane Irma Brings Threat Of Severe Storm Surge As It Crosses Over Florida Keys

FLORIDA (CNN)– Hurricane Irma bludgeoned Florida on Sunday (Sept. 10) morning, snapping trees like matchsticks and knocking out power to more than 1 milli...

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FLORIDA (CNN)– Hurricane Irma bludgeoned Florida on Sunday (Sept. 10) morning, snapping trees like matchsticks and knocking out power to more than 1 million people.

Hurling 130 mph winds, the Category 4 storm made landfall at 9:10 a.m. ET on Cudjoe Key, the National Hurricane Center said.

Even more powerful could be the storm surges that threaten to swallow Florida’s coastal cities.

“All the interior doors are starting to rattle now, sounds like someone is knocking on the front door,” he said. “The winds are picking up. It’s only going to get worse as it gets closer.”

Almost the entire state of Florida is under a hurricane warning affecting at least 36 million people, with concerns of catastrophic gales, torrential rain rain and deadly storm surges.

Those who did not evacuate ahead of the storm are in danger, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said Saturday.

Track Hurricane Irma’s path

“You’re on your own until we can actually get in there and it’s safe,” he told CNN. “There is no safe area within the Keys.”

Miami is also taking a beating from Irma. Ferocious winds knocked out power to more than 650,000 customers in the Miami-Dade area, and at least one construction crane snapped.

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The latest developments:

— More than 1.35 million electric customers across 24 counties are without power, Florida Power and Light said Sunday morning.

— Miami-Dade officers can no longer respond to calls for service, the Miami-Dade Police Department tweeted Sunday. Police are urging residents to stay indoors and not venture outside.

— Manatee County officials announced a curfew from 3 p.m. ET Sunday until 3 p.m. ET Monday. Residents must remain either in their home or in a shelter, the sheriff said.

— A storm surge warning wraps around the state, from Brevard County to Tampa Bay.

— More than 72,000 people have moved into more than 390 shelters across the state, the governor’s office said.

— At least 24 deaths have been blamed on Irma in the Caribbean islands, where it hit before barreling toward Florida.