Utility: 9 million people expected to lose power due to Irma

Around 9 million people are expected to lose power when Hurricane Irma makes landfall in Florida this weekend, officials with a top utility company in the state said Friday.

The Category 4 storm is on track to potentially cut off power to 4.1 million Florida residences and businesses, Florida Power and Light executive Eric Silagy said, according to Reuters. 

Hurricane Irma’s powerful winds, which have been measured at sustained speeds as high as 185 mph, have a high potential to knock down power lines.

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The storm comes on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, which battered southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana, with most of the damage in that storm coming from severe flooding.

Irma’s winds are on track to be some of the strongest ever recorded in the Atlantic. The storm was due to bring surges amounting to many feet in the Caribbean, hitting Florida on Sunday. 

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez (R) issued evacuation orders on Thursday for certain areas in the county, which is home to more than 2 million people.