Residents return to Florida Keys as Irma death toll increases

A boat washed ashore at the Dinner Key marina. Photo: Getty Images

Andy Sullivan in Florida

Residents returned yesterday to parts of the Florida Keys archipelago that was hammered by Hurricane Irma's high winds and storm surge, while the death toll rose in the second major hurricane to hit the United States this year.

Irma, which had rampaged through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, was downgraded to a tropical depression on Monday and was expected to dissipate from yesterday evening, the US's National Hurricane Centre said.