US President Trump makes first visit to Florida after Hurricane Irma

World Today

U.S. President Donald Trump made his first visit to Florida since the powerful Hurricane Irma hit the state. He promised the residents the U.S. government’s full support to recovery.  Residents begin to pick up the pieces of the destruction, as millions are still without power.

CGTN’s Nitza Soledad Perez reports.

President Trump met with Florida residents whose lives were turned upside down following Hurricane Irma, and the White House made sure the cameras were rolling.

The storm killed dozens in the U.S., most in the state of Florida. The destruction was massive.

“Well, we love the people of Florida, and they went through something that I guess the likes of which we can really say nobody has ever seen before,” the president said.

Trump congratulated first responders and promised to keep relief efforts going: “I just want to tell you, ‘we are there for you, 100 percent.”

The storm knocked out power across the state.

Damage to the electrical grid, combined with blistering temperatures, contributed to the deaths of eight people left in a nursing home without air conditioning. Officials have launched a criminal investigation.

“People are just absolutely shocked that someone on a staff would not know enough that a frail elderly person is dying of heat exhaustion and would at least know to dial 911,” said Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator from Florida.

More than two million Floridians are still in the dark. Authorities are working to restore service, especially in the Florida Keys, a 180 kilometer chain of islands.