Huit personnes âgées d'une maison de retraite de Floride sont mortes, vraisemblablement en raison de l'absence d'air conditionné trois jours après le passage d'Irma qui a laissé des millions de personnes sans électricité.
Les huit victimes sont âgées entre 71 et 99 ans, selon les services de santé locaux, cités mercredi par le Sun-Sentinel.
Les autorités locales avaient annoncé plus tôt dans la journée six morts dans cette maison de retraite située au nord de Miami, dans la ville d'Hollywood.
Avec le retour du ciel bleu, le «Sunshine State» est accablé par des températures humides et étouffantes de plus de 30 degrés °C, alors que plus de quatre millions de foyers et entreprises étaient toujours sans électricité mercredi dans cet État où vit un grand nombre de retraités.
La mort de ces pensionnaires peut s'expliquer par l'absence d'électricité et d'air conditionné, a indiqué le chef de la police locale cité par CNN à propos des six premières victimes.
Si ces décès sont officiellement ajoutés par les autorités au nombre de victimes d'Irma, le bilan provisoire s'élèvera à 20 morts en Floride et près de 40 morts dans les Caraïbes.
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: People shop in a supermarket, one of the few open, with limited electricity three days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: Mike Hodges, who is homeless, reflects on living amid the effects of Hurricane Irma after it swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall near Naples after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity is still out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: People shop in a supermarket, one of the few open, with limited electricity three days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: A man shops in a supermarket, one of the few open, with limited electricity three days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: A woman walks with a gas canister at a station three days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: Men look to purchase gas in rural Naples three days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: People look to purchase gas three days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: People wait in line for generators three days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 12: Destroyed power lines hang above a road two days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 12, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 12: Destroyed power lines hang above a road two days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 12, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPVILANO BEACH, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: Jose Orosz walks his dog Karen by a beachfront home destroyed by Hurricane Irma on September 13, 2017 in Vilano Beach, Florida. Nearly 4 million people remained without power more than two days after Irma swept through the state. Sean Rayford/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: People wait in line for generators three days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 13: People wait in line for generators three days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
Agence France-PresseTwo people pass a man in a canoe as they wade through the flooded streets of the San Marco historic district of Jacksonville, Florida, on September 11, 2017, after storm surge from Hurricane Irma left the area flooded. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON
-
Agence France-PresseJACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: Richard Shieldhouse navigates storm surge flood waters from Hurricane Irma along the St. Johns River in the Five Points neighborhood Sept. 11, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. Flooding in downtown Jacksonville along the river topped a record set during Hurricane Dora in 1965. Sean Rayford/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
Agence France-PresseJACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: A home is threatened by storm surge flood waters from Hurricane Irma along the St. Johns River in the Five Points neighborhood Sept. 11, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. Flooding in downtown Jacksonville along the river topped a record set during Hurricane Dora in 1965. Sean Rayford/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
Agence France-PresseJACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: Storm surge flood waters from Hurricane Irma pound a a condominium along the St. Johns River in the Five Points neighborhood Sept. 11, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. Flooding in downtown Jacksonville along the river topped a record set during Hurricane Dora in 1965. Sean Rayford/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
Agence France-PresseJACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: Jordan Tatham, left, and Kyle Owens walk through storm surge flood waters from Hurricane Irma along the St. Johns River in the Five Points neighborhood Sept. 11, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. Flooding in downtown Jacksonville along the river topped a record set during Hurricane Dora in 1965. Sean Rayford/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPA handout picture released by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) on September 10, 2017 shows destruction in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands left by Hurricane Irma on September 10, 2017. Hurricane Irma slammed into the Florida Keys September 10, lashing the tropical island chain with fearsome wind gusts as it churns towards the US state's west coast where a mass exodus has turned cities into ghost towns. At least 27 people have been killed since Irma began its march through the Caribbean, smashing through a string of islands from tiny Barbuda on Wednesday, to the tropical paradises of St Barts and St Martin, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos. / AFP PHOTO / MOD / LPhoto Joel ROUSE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / CROWN COPYRIGHT 2017 / CPL Rob TRAVIS " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - NO ARCHIVE - TO BE USED WITHIN 2 DAYS FROM SEPTEMBER 10, 2017 (48 HOURS), EXCEPT FOR MAGAZINES WHICH CAN PRINT THE PICTURE WHEN FIRST REPORTING ON THE EVENT /
-
AFPJACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: A home is threatened by storm surge flood waters from Hurricane Irma along the St. Johns River in the Five Points neighborhood Sept. 11, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. Flooding in downtown Jacksonville along the river topped a record set during Hurricane Dora in 1965. Sean Rayford/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
Agence France-PresseJACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: People watch storm surge flood waters from Hurricane Irma along the St. Johns River in the Five Points neighborhood Sept. 11, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. Flooding in downtown Jacksonville along the river topped a record set during Hurricane Dora in 1965. Sean Rayford/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPISLAMORADA, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: A house is shown inundated by rising waters in the wake of powerful Hurricane Irma on September 11, 2017 in Isamorada, a village encompassing six of the Florida Keys. Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 Sunday, swelling waterways an estimated 10 to 15 feet, according to published reports. Marc Serota/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
-
AFPTOPSHOT - A huge wave breaks near the Morro Castle in Havana, on September 10, 2017. Deadly Hurricane Irma battered central Cuba on Saturday, knocking down power lines, uprooting trees and ripping the roofs off homes as it headed towards Florida. Authorities said they had evacuated more than a million people as a precaution, including about 4,000 in the capital. / AFP PHOTO / YAMIL LAGE
-
AFPPalm trees blow in the winds of hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Florida, northeast of Naples, on September 10, 2017. Hurricane Irma regained strength to a Category 4 storm early as it began pummeling Florida and threatening landfall within hours. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM
-
AFPNAPLES, FL - SEPTEMBER 09: People walk through an empty downtown downtown Naples before the arrival of Hurricane Irma into Southwest Florida on September 9, 2017 in Naples, Florida. The Naples area could begin to feel hurricane-force winds from Irma by 11 a.m. Sunday and experience wind gusts over 100 mph from Sunday through Monday. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
Les quelque 115 pensionnaires de la maison de retraite ont immédiatement été évacués, certains, souffrant de déshydratation ou détresse respiratoire, vers l'hôpital le plus proche.
Plus de quatre millions de foyers et entreprises étaient toujours sans électricité mercredi en Floride.
Partout dans le sillage d'Irma, jusqu'en Géorgie et en Caroline du Sud, autorités et résidents s'attelaient à dégager les gravats accumulés sur les routes, dans les rues et les propriétés.
«Le plus dur c'est de ne plus avoir ni eau, ni électricité. Et ne pas savoir quand ça va revenir», a confié à l'AFP, Stasia Walsh, une septuagénaire dont le lotissement dans la cité balnéaire de Naples a été sérieusement endommagé par Irma.
Plus au sud, la réouverture mercredi de la route vers Key West a permis aux évacués de commencer à retourner dans l'archipel des Keys, où 85% des habitations sont détruites ou endommagées selon l'agence fédérale de secours (Fema).
«Cela va prendre des mois, peut-être des années, pour nettoyer tout ça», a prédit Bryan Holley, un résident interrogé par la chaîne NBC.
Mercredi, l'aéroport de Miami, la grande métropole de Floride qui a échappé dimanche au coeur de l'ouragan, ne fonctionnait encore qu'à 50% de ses capacités.
Téléthon pour les victimes
Comme souvent aux États-Unis après les catastrophes, plusieurs dizaines de célébrités ont participé mardi soir à un téléthon destiné aux victimes des ouragans Harvey et Irma, permettant de lever 44 millions de dollars.
Ce téléthon auquel participaient le chanteur Justin Bieber, les acteurs George Clooney, Robert de Niro ou Julia Roberts a aussi donné lieu à quelques diatribes contre le président Donald Trump et son refus de reconnaître la réalité du changement climatique.
«Quiconque croit que le réchauffement climatique n'existe pas doit être aveugle ou idiot», a lancé chanteur Stevie Wonder qui est non-voyant, avec une pointe d'ironie.
«Les effets du changement climatique se manifestent dans le monde entier tous les jours», a abondé la chanteuse Beyoncé, dans un message vidéo.
Donald Trump est attendu jeudi en Floride pour constater les dégâts. Dans une allusion à son grand chantier politique du moment, le président américain a estimé mercredi sur Twitter que les «dévastations de Irma et de Harvey» rendaient «les baisses d'impôts et les réformes fiscales encore plus nécessaires».
Dans les Caraïbes, après Saint-Martin, le président français Emmanuel Macron s'est rendu mercredi au chevet de Saint-Barthélemy pour défendre l'action de son gouvernement et assurer de sa priorité d'un «retour à la normale» pour les deux îles antillaises ravagées par l'ouragan Irma.
Le chef de l'État a notamment annoncé un mécanisme d'aide financière d'urgence, mis en place «d'ici lundi prochain», pour les sinistrés «qui ont tout perdu» et les habitants au chômage technique.
La première ministre Theresa May, qui fait face aux mêmes critiques sur la réaction des autorités britanniques, a annoncé mercredi une enveloppe supplémentaire de 25 millions de livres en faveur des territoires britanniques aux Caraïbes, dévastés par Irma.
L'avenir économique s'annonce sombre pour ces îles dédiées au tourisme.
«Pour la saison touristique qui arrive, c'est foutu», a confié Paco Benito, directeur de l'hôtel Riu Palace, à Anse Marcel, au nord de l'île franco-néerlandaise de Saint-Martin.
Tourisme difficile
La première ministre Theresa May qui fait faceaux mêmes critiques sur la réaction des autorités britanniques a annoncé mercredi une enveloppe supplémentaire de 25 millions de livres en faveur des territoires britanniques aux Caraïbes, dévastés par Irma.
L'avenir économique s'annonce sombre pour ces îles dédiées au tourisme.
«Pour la saison touristique qui arrive, c'est foutu», a confié Paco Benito, directeur de l'hôtel Riu Palace, à Anse Marcel, au nord de l'île franco-néerlandaise de Saint-Martin.
«Tous les magasins, les entreprises sont sinistrés, cassés, éventrés. C'est comme si une bombe était tombée sur Saint-Martin. Là, on est juste en phase de nettoyage, mais ça va prendre du temps», a renchéri Maggy Gumbs, directrice de la Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Saint-Martin.