Orange County: Mayor says Irma was 'Worse than Charley'

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Orange County received severe damage from Irma’s destructive winds and rain, leaving more than 130 homes flooded, authorities said Monday.

Fire Rescue and the National Guard team up to rescue 149 residents from 550 homes that were impacted by flooding in the Orlo Vista area Monday.

A large portion of the wall on the Doubletree hotel near OIA was ripped away by the storm.

Orlando International Airport will remain closed until further notice.

In a news conference, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said the damage from Irma was “worse than Charley.”

Officials said more than 1,300 911 calls were made in Orange County between Sunday 12 a.m. and Monday 5 a.m.

"The safety of our city lies ahead of us rather than behind us," said Jacobs.

Trees and power lines were down across Orange County, and floods cut off roads to a neighborhood.

As the sun rose in Orlando, many tried to go outside to survey the damage, but authorities warned that conditions remain dangerous and ask that people to abide by the curfew that lasts throughout most of the day.

It was difficult in Orlando to find a street that was not littered with piles of tree limbs.

Windermere resident Eddie Foote hired some of the children in his neighborhood to help with the cleanup.

When that's done, he said he'll probably have to get someone to come pick all the debris up.

"I expect, at some point, I'll hire someone with a truck to take it to the dump," Foote said.

A few blocks away, TJ Karr was working with a couple friends and two chainsaws to hack apart massive trees that fell during the storm, narrowly missing his home.

"My plan is, from what everybody else is telling me, we're going to put it by the street and hope somebody is gonna come and get it," Karr said.

Orange County has set up 10 sites for residents to bring storm debris and collection trucks were expected to be back on the roads Tuesday.

Yard waste pickup teams would also be working on Saturday, officials said.

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