Hurricane Irma: Donald Trump signs off on major disaster declaration for Florida

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday approved a major disaster declaration for Florida and ordered federal aid to help the state struck by Hurricane Irma.

The declaration means residents and businesses can apply for grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs. The federal government will also reimburse counties for emergency protective measures including evacuation and sheltering costs as well as for much of the costs of debris removal.

LIVE UPDATES: Tracking Hurricane Irma’s path

Irma lashed the Gulf Coast of Florida with the brunt of its fury on Sunday afternoon, knocking out electricity to 2.5 million homes and businesses statewide while flooding streets and swaying skyscrapers in Miami.

Hours after barreling across the resort archipelago of the Florida Keys, the storm crept up the western shore of the Florida Peninsula to make a second landfall at Marco Island around 3.35 ET (1935 GMT), about a dozen miles south of upscale beach town Naples on the Gulf of Mexico.

1:20 Ferocious wind, rain from Hurricane Irma in Naples, Fla. rips roof tiles off of building

• Ferocious wind, rain from Hurricane Irma in Naples, Fla. rips roof tiles off of building
• Collier County, FL battered by high winds as eye of Hurricane Irma bears down
• Irma leaves trail of debris and destruction in Florida Keys
• Punishing winds on Florida’s Marco Island as Irma’s eyewall makes landfall
• Boats heard cracking on break walls as Hurricane Irma continues path of destruction
• Hurricane Irma downgraded to Category 2 storm, still expected to wreak havoc on Tampa
• Flamingos at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, FL seek shelter along with their human handlers
• Florida residents bring their horses inside as Hurricane Irma approaches

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Irma is expected to cause billions of dollars in damage to the third-most-populous U.S. state, a major tourism hub with an economy that generates about 5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.