AKIPRESS.COM - Hurricane Irma is blasting up the west coast of Florida and bearing down on the city of Tampa, with dangerous flooding along long stretches of coast, BBCreported. 

It has been downgraded from category three to one but still has maximum sustained winds of  137km/h.

More than 3.4 million homes in the state are without power, with parts of the city of Miami are under water.

Three storm-related deaths have been reported and several areas have brought in curfews. 

Irma cut a devastating track across 10 Caribbean countries and territories, killing at least 28 people there.

President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration and emergency federal aid for Florida, describing the hurricane as a "big monster".