ATLANTA (AP) - Irma weakened to a still-deadly tropical storm as it swirled beyond Florida Monday, killing at least three people in Georgia, flooding the coast, sending trees crashing onto homes and forcing the world's busiest airport in Atlanta to cancel hundreds of flights.
The former hurricane remained an immense, 415-mile (668-kilometer) wide storm as its center moved on from Florida Monday afternoon, giving its still-formidable gusts and drenching rains a far reach.
Some 540,000 people were ordered to evacuate days earlier from Savannah and the rest of Georgia's coast. Irma sent 4 feet of ocean water into downtown Charleston, South Carolina, as the storm's center passed 250 miles (400 kilometers) away. City officials urged residents to stay off the streets as 3 feet (0.91 meters) of water above dry ground is expected overnight.
In Atlanta, people nervously watched towering oak trees as the city, 250 miles inland, experienced its first tropical storm warning.
The body of a 62-year-old man who climbed a ladder behind his home was found under debris on the roof of his shed in southwest Georgia, where winds topped 40 mph (65 kph), Worth County sheriff's spokeswoman Kannetha Clem said. His wife had called 911 saying he'd had a heart attack.
Hurricane Irma stories
- Sewage spills add to misery in hurricane-battered Florida [photos]
- Georgia Gov. Deal: State will pay local share for Irma cleanup on coast [photos]
- Hart: Irma's hype was worse than her bite
- Southern Adventist University students to hold event for Hurricane Irma victims
- Life and death of Irma: Two weeks of fury and devastation end
- Irma's fury in the Keys: So loud 'it hurt your eardrums'
- Power outages continue to drop in Georgia after Irma storm
- Trump picks Naples for post-Irma Florida visit
- Eight die at Florida nursing home in Irma's sweltering aftermath
- Irma's life and demise: 2 weeks of destruction and fear
- Powerful Irma slams Chattanooga area; region escapes much of expected damage [photos]
- EPB continues effort to restore electricity to area customers after storm [photos]
- Irma spawns unusual storm surges on both Florida coasts [photos]
- Governor: 'Work to do' for Florida to recover after Irma
- Back-to-back storms in Georgia mean doing repairs all over again
- As Irma evacuees head back south, cleanup is on their minds
- Stevie Wonder opens hurricane relief benefit with 'Lean on Me'
- What's happening: Irma's trail: death, floods and misery
- Couple's home an island after Irma: 'We lost everything'
- Harvey and Irma to slow U.S. economy but rebound should follow
- FEMA estimates 25 percent of Florida Keys homes are gone
- What's happening: Irma's trail: death, floods and misery
- Trump to visit Florida on Thursday
- Irma causes fourth South Carolina death
- 'Wagon Wheel' points Irma evacuees to Tennessee city
- Generator leads to Irma's third South Carolina death
- Irma kills 2 in Georgia and 2 in South Carolina
- 12 Chattanooga-area lineworkers headed to Irma-ravaged Florida and Georgia
- Aquarium hosts animals evacuated from Georgia [video]
- Cuba's decrepit buildings no match for Hurricane Irma [photos, interactive tracker]
- Refugees, triathletes find shelter in Chattanooga as Irma rolls through Southeast
- Irma whips Southeast: 3 dead in Georgia, 1 in South Carolina [photos, interactive tracker]
- Atlanta airport cancels 800 flights Monday due to Irma
- UPDATE: TEMA status raised to Level 3- State of Emergency as Irma moves through Tennessee
- Nearly two dozen flights canceled at Chattanooga Airport
- UPDATE: Many schools in Chattanooga region closed or on 2-hour delay today
- Weakened Irma lashes Tampa Bay region; full impact unknown [photos, interactive tracker]
- Two stranded manatees helped after Irma sucks water from bay
- Remnants of Hurricane Irma bringing wind, rain to Chattanooga area [interactive tracker]
- What Chattanoogans can do to prepare for Irma's potential impact [interactive tracker]
- UPDATE: Hurricane Irma gives Florida a coast-to-coast pummeling [photos, interactive tracker]
- 2 manatees stranded as Irma sucks water from Sarasota Bay
- Red Cross and partners open shelters in Chattanooga, three other Tennessee cities for Irma evacuees
- Georgia schools, businesses close after Gov. Deal declares state of emergency
- Irma prompts first ever tropical storm warning for Atlanta
- Hurricane Irma knocks Miami Marlins' radio broadcast off air
- Haslam orders health aid for Irma victims
- How Hurricane Irma became the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record; a question and answer
- They've been warned: Some insist on riding out Irma at home
- This is your last chance': Irma puts a bull's-eye on Tampa
- Is Hurricane Irma the 'Big One' Florida has dreaded?
- Rush Limbaugh evacuates studio ahead of Hurricane Irma
- Florida evacuees crowd highways in Atlanta
- Irma gains strength, targets Florida after raking Caribbean
- Beyond Florida, Irma an unpredictable threat to Southeast
- Hurricane Irma likely to be far worse than monster Andrew
"He was lodged between two beams and had a little bit of debris on top of him," Clem said. "He was on the roof at the height of the storm."
Another man, in his 50s, was killed just outside Atlanta when a tree fell on his house, Sandy Springs police Sgt. Sam Worsham said.
And a woman died when a tree fell on a vehicle in a private driveway, according to the website of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities did not immediately release the names of any of the three who died in Georgia.
Charles Saxon, 57, became South Carolina's first recorded death when he was struck by a tree limb while clearing debris outside his home in Calhoun Falls amid wind gusts of about 40 mph, according to a statement from Abbeville County Coroner Ronnie Ashley.
Communities along Georgia's coast were swamped by storm surge and rainfall arriving at high tide Monday afternoon. On Tybee Island east of Savannah, Holland Zellers was grabbing a kayak to reach his mother in a home near the beach.
"In the street right now, the water is knee-to-waist deep," Zeller said.
Tybee Island City Manager Shawn Gillen said waters were receding quickly, but many of the 3,000 residents' homes were flooded.
"I don't think people who have lived here a long time have ever seen flooding this bad," Gillen said.
The tidal surge sent damaged boats rushing more than three blocks onto downtown streets in St. Marys, just north of the Georgia-Florida state line, St. Marys Police Lt. Shannon Brock said.
Downtown Atlanta hotels remained full of evacuees. Many milled about the CNN Center, escaping crowded hotel rooms in search of open restaurants. Many were glued to storm coverage on the atrium's big screen. Parents pointed out familiar sites, now damaged, to their children.
"We've been here since Friday night, and we're ready to go home" to Palm Beach County, Marilyn Torrence said as her 4-year-old colored.
FORECAST
Irma weakened into a tropical depression late Monday, and the National Hurricane Center discontinued all storm surge and tropical weather watches and warnings related to the storm. Meteorologist Keith Stellman said Atlanta's airport recorded sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) with gusts up to 64 mph (103 kph). The National Weather Service said flooding rains were a major concern Monday, with 8 to 15 inches (20 to 38 centimeters) of rainfall predicted in southeast Georgia. Alabama Emergency Management Agency meteorologist Jim Stefcovich said strong winds could linger until 2 a.m. Tuesday.
TRANSIT
About 800 flights had been canceled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which remained operational Monday, even as many planes turned corners of the tarmac into a parking lot. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority suspended all bus and rail services Monday but said it would resume limited service Tuesday morning with plans to expand service as weather conditions improve. Downtown Atlanta's streets were eerily quiet, with restaurants, businesses and schools closed. Traffic flowed easily on the city's interstates, normally a sea of brake lights during rush hours.
POWER
Nearly 1.5 million Georgia Power and EMC customers were without power. Alabama Power reported 45,000 outages. Utilities said thousands of employees were prepared to respond, but repairs could take several days.
COASTS
Georgia's coast was largely empty less than a year after Hurricane Matthew caused $500 million in damage and killed three people last October. In Charleston, South Carolina, the ocean topped the Battery wall that typically protects downtown. Only Hurricane Hugo's direct hit in 1989 and a 1940 hurricane that hit a short way down the coast pushed higher seas.
Smaller communities also were inundated - the entire South Carolina town of Edisto Beach, population 530, was covered with several feet of water, Mayor Jane Darby said, despite a $17 million dune restoration project following Matthew's destruction.
TREES
Atlanta Parks and Recreation Commissioner Amy Phuong said six crews were responding to fallen trees around the city as winds and rain intensified. About half the city's land area is covered by trees - more than most urban areas. Savannah's winds caused palm trees to bend and sway. And much of Alabama has pine trees that can snap in high winds.
Firefighters were rescuing people from homes struck by trees near the Florida line in Lowndes County, Georgia. With wind gusts reaching 70 mph (112 kph), authorities imposed a daytime curfew for the 112,000 residents of Lowndes County, which includes Valdosta, county spokeswoman Paige Dukes said.
Hurricane Irma stories
- Sewage spills add to misery in hurricane-battered Florida [photos]
- Georgia Gov. Deal: State will pay local share for Irma cleanup on coast [photos]
- Hart: Irma's hype was worse than her bite
- Southern Adventist University students to hold event for Hurricane Irma victims
- Life and death of Irma: Two weeks of fury and devastation end
- Irma's fury in the Keys: So loud 'it hurt your eardrums'
- Power outages continue to drop in Georgia after Irma storm
- Trump picks Naples for post-Irma Florida visit
- Eight die at Florida nursing home in Irma's sweltering aftermath
- Irma's life and demise: 2 weeks of destruction and fear
- Powerful Irma slams Chattanooga area; region escapes much of expected damage [photos]
- EPB continues effort to restore electricity to area customers after storm [photos]
- Irma spawns unusual storm surges on both Florida coasts [photos]
- Governor: 'Work to do' for Florida to recover after Irma
- Back-to-back storms in Georgia mean doing repairs all over again
- As Irma evacuees head back south, cleanup is on their minds
- Stevie Wonder opens hurricane relief benefit with 'Lean on Me'
- What's happening: Irma's trail: death, floods and misery
- Couple's home an island after Irma: 'We lost everything'
- Harvey and Irma to slow U.S. economy but rebound should follow
- FEMA estimates 25 percent of Florida Keys homes are gone
- What's happening: Irma's trail: death, floods and misery
- Trump to visit Florida on Thursday
- Irma causes fourth South Carolina death
- 'Wagon Wheel' points Irma evacuees to Tennessee city
- Generator leads to Irma's third South Carolina death
- Irma kills 2 in Georgia and 2 in South Carolina
- 12 Chattanooga-area lineworkers headed to Irma-ravaged Florida and Georgia
- Aquarium hosts animals evacuated from Georgia [video]
- Cuba's decrepit buildings no match for Hurricane Irma [photos, interactive tracker]
- Refugees, triathletes find shelter in Chattanooga as Irma rolls through Southeast
- Irma whips Southeast: 3 dead in Georgia, 1 in South Carolina [photos, interactive tracker]
- Atlanta airport cancels 800 flights Monday due to Irma
- UPDATE: TEMA status raised to Level 3- State of Emergency as Irma moves through Tennessee
- Nearly two dozen flights canceled at Chattanooga Airport
- UPDATE: Many schools in Chattanooga region closed or on 2-hour delay today
- Weakened Irma lashes Tampa Bay region; full impact unknown [photos, interactive tracker]
- Two stranded manatees helped after Irma sucks water from bay
- Remnants of Hurricane Irma bringing wind, rain to Chattanooga area [interactive tracker]
- What Chattanoogans can do to prepare for Irma's potential impact [interactive tracker]
- UPDATE: Hurricane Irma gives Florida a coast-to-coast pummeling [photos, interactive tracker]
- 2 manatees stranded as Irma sucks water from Sarasota Bay
- Red Cross and partners open shelters in Chattanooga, three other Tennessee cities for Irma evacuees
- Georgia schools, businesses close after Gov. Deal declares state of emergency
- Irma prompts first ever tropical storm warning for Atlanta
- Hurricane Irma knocks Miami Marlins' radio broadcast off air
- Haslam orders health aid for Irma victims
- How Hurricane Irma became the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record; a question and answer
- They've been warned: Some insist on riding out Irma at home
- This is your last chance': Irma puts a bull's-eye on Tampa
- Is Hurricane Irma the 'Big One' Florida has dreaded?
- Rush Limbaugh evacuates studio ahead of Hurricane Irma
- Florida evacuees crowd highways in Atlanta
- Irma gains strength, targets Florida after raking Caribbean
- Beyond Florida, Irma an unpredictable threat to Southeast
- Hurricane Irma likely to be far worse than monster Andrew