Irma downgraded to tropical storm

Irma has downgraded to a tropical as it moves over Florida toward southern Georgia this morning.

The hurricane’s maximum sustained winds weakened to 135 kilometres/hour with additional weakening expected.

This comes after Irma hammered much of Florida with high winds, flooding and widespread power outages. Nearly 4.5 million homes and businesses lost communication as a result of the hurricane, graded a category 4 at the time.

In the wake of the disaster, the federal government is sending a team to the Caribbean to find out what assistance Canada can provide.

Among the tools at the government’s disposal is its disaster assistance response team, made up of members of the military and diplomats.

The D.A.R.T. can go anywhere in the world on short notice to provide humanitarian assistance.

Meantime, a Toronto-based organization has sent four people to storm-battered St. Marteen to deliver supplies to those affected. According to authorities an estimated 70 percent of St. Marteen homes were damaged or destroyed by Irma and four people have died.