As Irma weakens, officials urge patience for evacuees eager to return home

Irma left a trail of devastation throughout the Southeast, killing at least five people in the US, flooding major cities including Jacksonville, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina, and leaving millions without power.

On Monday night, Irma was downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression as the storm lumbered 95 miles south-southwest of Atlanta, Georgia. Irma is expected to turn toward Alabama and then into western Tennessee.

Irma, which stretched 650 miles from east to west, affected at least nine states, turning streets into rivers, ripping down power lines, uprooting trees and cutting off coastal communities.

Jacksonville grappled with a record storm surge on Monday, prompting the Coast Guard to deploy boats to rescue residents.

Meanwhile, evacuees in Florida were anxious to return and see how their homes weathered the storm.But officials urged patience. "Check with local officials before returning home to make sure you can safely do so," said Gov. Rick Scott on Monday.
Track Hurricane Irma's path

Meanwhile, evacuees in Florida were anxious to return and see how their homes weathered the storm.But officials urged patience. "Check with local officials before returning home to make sure you can safely do so," said
He said that standing water remains an issue over the entire peninsula.

The latest developments: -- As of Monday night, the tropical depression was centered about 95 miles south of Atlanta, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. -- Five storm-related deaths have been reported.

Georgia: Three deaths reported. A 62-year-old man who was on his roof was killed in Worth County, which experienced wind gusts of 69 mph, according to Kannetha Clem, a spokeswoman for the Worth County Sheriff's Office.

Florida: One driver died in a car accident on State Road 417, said Orange County Fire Rescue Chief Otto Drozd.
South Carolina: A 57-year-old
South Carolina man was fatally hit by a falling tree limb during the storm, Abbeville County Coroner Ronnie Ashley told CNN.