Florida braces as Irma draws near

MIAMI - Hurricane Irma continued its deadly sweep through the Caribbean on Friday as residents of Florida waited with frazzled nerves and growing fears over just how bad the storm would be.

The Category 4 hurricane, with a footprint as big as Texas, is expected to make landfall early Sunday and blow through central Florida with 150 mph winds, reaching Georgia by Monday morning.

Mandatory evacuations were in place for most coastal communities, affecting 650,000 people or more. Already, supplies of water, batteries, flashlights and plywood had disappeared from most stores throughout