Hurricane Irma: Trump approves billions in aid as storm devastates Florida killing three

approved a £11.37billion ($15billion) bill on Sunday that means residents and businesses can apply for grants for temporary housing, home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs.

The federal government will also reimburse counties for emergency protective measures including evacuation and sheltering costs, as well as most of the costs for debris removal.

The US President was under-fire about his leadership over a series of blunders when managing Hurricane Harvey, telling families “good luck to everybody” before the storm hit Texas.

He has also been accused of being late in his response to Harvey and in signing the bill.

has become a major test for Trump’s leadership with people making comparisons to George Bush’s slow response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Donald Trump announced the plan via his Twitter account on Saturday, he said: “Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen. Be safe and get out of its way, if possible. Federal G is ready!

“Our incredible US Coast Guard saved more than 15,000 lives last week with Harvey. Irma could be even tougher. We love our Coast Guard!”

Governor of Florida Rick Scott said at a press conference in Tallahassee, Florida: “I would like to thank Mr Trump.

“I’ve been speaking with the President every single day to give updates.”

Hurricane Irma hit the Gulf Coast of Florida on Sunday afternoon

At least three people have died in Florida and around 2.5million homes are without electricity.

The hurricane crept up the west coast of Florida and is now currently heading toward Georgia.

The cataclysmic hurricane, with winds reaching up to 130mph, has left a trail of destruction across the Cuba, the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Hurricane Irma’s current death toll has risen to at least 25 people in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean islands of Barbuda and St Martin were described by their government as being reduced to “rubble” by the hurricane.


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