Hurricane Irma: Unicef appeals for international help for Caribbean islands Read moreTrees are down, a roof lies quizzically on its own without the house beneath it, a golf buggy is torn and twisted and covered in seaweed. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Damage from Hurricane Irma in Marathon, Florida. This is the “humanitarian crisis” that the authorities have warned is unfolding in the lower Florida Keys, where by some estimates as many as 10,000 people may have decided to ignore the ubiquitous orders to evacuate and ride out one of the most powerful storms in living memory. The Guardian put that question to Johnny Maddox, the commander of the Florida Keys branch of the Disabled American Veterans association. “I guess the Florida Keys is the last best refuge of people who have spent 30 years working in a factory up in Detroit or somewhere and now want to live in paradise.

Source: The Guardian September 12, 2017 18:46 UTC