It was this week in 2017 when Hurricane Irma broadsided parts of Florida, then churned north across the peninsula, leaving a massive amount of damage and destruction in its wake, to say the least.
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The powerful storm pummeled the Keys and led to the worst flooding in Jacksonville’s 250-year history -- and that was just in the Sunshine State alone. Irma hit Antigua, Barbuda, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Cuba, just to name some of the islands and surrounding areas that also sustained extensive damage.
Irma was considered a Category 4 hurricane when it slammed into Cudjoe Key, Florida, on Sept. 10, 2017. Shortly after the storm passed through, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that 25 percent of all the homes in the Keys were destroyed, and 65 percent suffered major damage.
In the Jacksonville area, Irma’s position and the flow of the St. Johns River combined to spell out disaster. Some neighborhoods were underwater for weeks following the storm.
At one point, Hurricane Irma was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic -- outside of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico -- by the National Hurricane Center, according to NPR. It remains one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic Basin, and it made landfall seven times.
Forty-four people in the Caribbean and United States died as a direct result of Irma, published reports indicate.
Irma was costly, as well. The storm was the fifth-costliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S., causing about $50 billion in damage, according to the NHC.
Here’s a look at a damaged home after Hurricane Irma passed through the area on Sept. 13, 2017, in Big Pine Key, Florida (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).Dan Weeks shows a photo of what his mobile home looked like on the now-empty lot before Irma arrived -- destroying the home in Marathon, Florida (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).A boat is spotted washed ashore at the Dinner Key Marina after Irma made landfall in the Miami area (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).Damaged homes and streets are littered with debris after the hurricane struck Ramrod Key (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).Residents take a look at the at the damage left on Sept. 11, 2017, in Philipsburg, St. Maarten (Jose Jimenez/Getty Images).Jose Orosz walks his dog Karen by a beachfront home destroyed by the hurricane in Vilano Beach, Florida (Sean Rayford/Getty Images).A couple leaves their flooded home the morning after Irma swept in, in Bonita Springs, Florida (Spencer Platt/Getty Images).A tree blocks a road after it was downed by winds in Miami (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).Damaged houses are spotted over the Florida Keys (Matt McClain-Pool/Getty Images).A sign on a business reads, “Be Prepared, Go Away Irma,” as people prepare for the epic storm in Miami (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).Floodwaters started to recede on Sept. 13, 2017 in Middleburg, Florida. Flooding in town from the Black Creek topped the previous high water mark by about 7 feet -- and water entered the second story of many homes (Sean Rayford/Getty Images).Justin Hand navigates storm surge flood waters along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. Flooding in downtown Jacksonville topped a record set during Hurricane Dora in 1965 (Sean Rayford/Getty Images).A truck is seen on its side after being blown over in Miami (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).A rescue team from the local emergency management agency inspects flooded areas in Fajardo, Puerto Rico (Jose Jimenez/Getty Images).Trees bend in the tropical storm winds along North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images).In this handout image, NOAA's GOES satellite shows Hurricane Irma as it makes its way across the Atlantic Ocean into the Caribbean -- a Category 5 storm with winds as high as 185 miles per hour (NASA/NOAA GOES Project via Getty Images).
