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Stephanie Colombini, a reporter for WUSF radio in Florida, told the ����ý that low-lying Tampa and St Petersburg may have escaped the worst of the winds - which in turn may mean the storm surge has been less damaging. "There has been a little bit of a sigh of relief right now... but emergency officials keep warning that it's not over yet," Colombini told ����ý Newsday.

People in Miami are trying to get some rest after a nerve wracking few days, Pascal Fletcher, the editorial lead for ����ý Monitoring in Miami says. The winds are slightly calmer now he told ����ý Newsday, although large parts of the city remain in darkness. He says that residents will be returning to their homes on Monday to see just how much damage has been caused.

Image source, EPA

While the winds have died down, much of north Miami is without power because of damage to transformers, Major Richard Rand of North Miami Beach Police tells the ����ý. He says that his officers are patrolling street-to-street to help victims of the storm.

Image source, Reuters

A curfew has also been extended in the Miami Dade area until further notice, .

Likewise the Doral area of the city has extended its curfew until noon on Monday, saying the city needs more time to clear up debris before it’s safe for people to go outside.

“Please stay inside and stay safe while work crews clear the roads of debris,” Mayor JC Bermudez said in a statement.

Maximum sustained winds are 100mph, . It also quotes a private observer in Clearwater Beach who recently measured a wind gust of 96mph (154km/h). Likewise a private weather station in Egmont Channel reported sustained winds of 72mph (116km/h) with a gust to 91mph (146km/h).

Image source, EPA

NBC 6 reports arrests made in Fort Lauderdale and Miami for looting during the hurricane.

As Irma is continuing to move northwards, a tornado watch has been issued for parts of Florida and also Georgia until 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT), the National Weather Center says.

The National Hurricane Center is also predicting that Irma will become a tropical storm over "far northern Florida or southern Georgia on Monday".

More from the National Weather Center.

it says Irma is producing "hurricane-force winds across portions of central Florida".

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

The combined economic cost of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could reach $290bn (£220bn), equivalent to 1.5% of the US gross domestic product,

"We believe the damage estimate from Irma to be about $100bn, among the costliest hurricanes of all time," the company's CEO and founder Joel Myers says.

The National Weather Center is now warning about flooding across Florida, urging residents to stay indoors overnight.

"As you can see, much of the buildings and vegetation on Necker has been destroyed or badly damaged," .

the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says Irma is now producing "widespread damaging winds across much of Florida".

More than 3.4 million homes and businesses have now lost power in Florida, according to the state's major utility companies.

Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electricity supplier, said more than 2.9 million of its customers were without service.

As the storm moved up the coast, Duke Energy's outages were steadily climbing, Reuters reports.

American Airlines Group says it will resume limited operations at its Miami International Airport hub on Monday evening, Reuters reports.

But the company adds that it will take days before the airline returns to normal operations.

Currently all US flights remain cancelled on Monday at Florida's airports.

The US National Weather Service provides useful tips for residents on what to do if a tornado warning is issued.