Weather and Natural Disasters

See evacuees returning home to find out how Hurricane Irma's destruction played out

Alice Barber gets emotional as she surveys the damage caused by Hurricane Irma to her trailer home in Immokalee, Fla., on Sept. 11, 2017.
Marcus Yam | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Hurricane Irma left a devastating path of destruction across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and much of the Caribbean. Some residents who fled are slowly returning to find their homes and neighborhoods destroyed.

Recovery is only getting started. Millions remain without power, and major flooding persists in many areas. The tourism industry, which sustains much of the Caribbean economy, was shattered; some residents and tourists are still evacuating the hardest-hit areas.

The true economic impact of this hurricane is yet to be tallied, but it will certainly be one of the costliest in recent history. The following are just some of the harrowing scenes residents now face.

Photo caption above: Alice Barber gets emotional as she surveys the damage caused by Hurricane Irma to her trailer home in Immokalee, Florida.

—With images from Getty Images, Reuters and AP.

Residents observe the damage left by Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, St. Maarten.

Residents observe the damage left by Hurricane Irma on September 11, 2017 in Philipsburg, St. Martin. The Caribbean island sustained extensive damage from the powerful storm.
Getty Images

Boats wrecked by Hurricane Irma in St. Martin.

Boats wrecked by Hurricane Irma are seen from a plane in Saint Martin.
Alvin Baez | Reuters

People line up to board a plane and leave St. Martin after it was devastated by the hurricane.

People line up to board a plane and leave the island after it was devastated by Hurricane Irma, in Simpson Bay, Saint Martin.
Alvin Baez | Reuters

A Cuban wades through a flooded street in Havana. 

A Cuban wades through a flooded street in Havana, on September 10, 2017. Deadly Hurricane Irma battered central Cuba on Saturday, knocking down power lines, uprooting trees and ripping the roofs off homes as it headed towards Florida.
Yamil Lage | AFP | Getty Images

Havana's Malecon waterfront is closed to traffic three days after Irma passed over Cuba.

Havana's Malecon waterfront is closed to traffic, three days after Hurricane Irma passed over Cuba, on September 12, 2017, in Havana, Cuba. Hundreds of thousands still have no power as Cuba is recovering from the impact by hurricane Irma.
Sven Creutzmann | Mambo photo | Getty Images

What was once a gift shop and restaurant in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands.  

What was once a gift shop and restaurant now lays in ruins in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, on Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma's 185mph winds ripped through the island six days before.
Jessica Rinaldi | The Boston Globe | Getty Images

Bill Quinn surveys the damage caused to his trailer home in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys.

Bill Quinn surveys the damage caused to his trailer home from Hurricane Irma at the Seabreeze Trailer Park in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys, September 12, 2017.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

An uprooted tree slashed a trailer in half in Kissimmee, Florida.  

An uprooted tree that slashed a trailer in half in the wake of Hurricane Irma is pictured at a mobile home park in Kissimmee, Florida, U.S. September 12, 2017.
Gregg Newton | Reuters

A couple leave their flooded home the morning after Irma swept through the Fort Myers, Florida, area.

A couple leave their flooded home the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 11, 2017 in Fort Myers, Florida.
Getty Images

Residents look inside a collapsed coastal house in Vilano Beach, Florida. 

Local residents look inside a collapsed coastal house in Vilano Beach.
Chris Wattie | Reuters

A van rests in a sinkhole that opened up at the Astor Park apartment complex in Winter Springs, Florida. 

A van remains in a sinkhole on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017 that opened up at the Astor Park apartment complex in Winter Springs, Fla., during Hurricane Irma's passing through central Florida Sunday night.
Joe Burbank | Orlando Sentinel/TNS | Getty Images

Joshua Young takes some of his personal belongings out by kayak after flooding hit his apartment building in the Jacksonville, Florida, area.

Joshua Young takes some of his personal belonging out by kayak after flooding hit his apartment building during Hurricane Irma on September 12, 2017 in the San Marco area of Jacksonville, Florida.
Carolyn Cole | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Joey Spalding walks back to his truck down the street where he lives on Tybee Island, Georgia. 

Joey Spalding walks back to his truck down the street where he lives, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, on Tybee Island, Ga.
Stephen B. Morton | AP

Boats sit on the bottom in the Florida Panhandle community of Shell Point Beach in Crawfordville.

Boats sit on the bottom in the north Florida panhandle community of Shell Point Beach as Hurricane Irma pulls the water out September 11, 2017 in Crawfordville, Florida.
Getty Images

Mike Gilbert and his 15-year-old daughter, Brook, stand over the remains of a three-story, 12-unit condominium near Islamorada in the Florida Keys. 

Mike Gilbert and his daughter, Brook Gilbert, 15, stand over the remnants of a three-story, 12-unit condominium near Islamorada, along the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Mike Gilbert was a resident in the building, which collapsed during the storm surge caused by Hurricane Irma.
Al Diaz | Miami Herald | TNS | Getty Image

Workers attempt to save a damaged motor yacht in the Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach, Florida.

SeaTow workers attempt to save a damaged motor yacht in the Hillsboro Inlet, following the passing of Hurricane Irma in Pompano Beach, Florida, U.S., September 11, 2017.
Joe Skipper | Reuters

Marie Powell surveys damage to her property at a mobile home park in Naples, Florida.

Marie Powell surveys damage to her property at a mobile home park after Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida, September 11, 2017.
Stephen Yang | Reuters