The Florida Keys look like they will be destroyed by Irma.
And while Irma's core is set to travel up the west coast, she is so big that destructive winds and storm surges are expected on the east coast. There are tornado warnings in many areas also.
The scale and type of destruction is similar to a very major earthquake. If I had the choice of avoiding an earthquake, I would do so but for reasons valid to them, many people are staying behind in the most at risk areas in Florida.
Good luck to everybody there. Many of these affected areas are beautiful places. I was lucky enough to see the Keys just this year and have spent time in many other parts of Florida over the years, including the west coast. It may not be the same for a long time after this.
Overall, it looks like for mainland Florida, this has not been as bad as it could have been. Irma is now category 3 and will weaken as it travels up the west coast. Cuba and other islands earlier got hit with the full force of Irma up to Category 5, and the Keys got hit at Category 4.
But, the west coast, starting with Marco Island and right now Naples, are expected to get a storm surge of up to 15 feet. It will be like a tsunami. I hope people had the sense to get out of area.