Trump thanks rescue teams in Florida for work during Hurricane Irma
Trump tours Florida to assess the damage caused by Irma, which has killed 81 people in the US and the Caribbean
US President Donald Trump praised first responders in storm-ravaged Florida on Thursday for limiting the US death toll from devastating Hurricane Irma, the second major storm to hit the United States this year.
Trump’s visit came the day after police in Hollywood, Florida, launched an criminal investigation into a nursing home where eight patients died after the facility lost power and continued to operate with little or no air conditioning in sweltering heat.
The death toll from Irma stood at 81 on Thursday, including 38 in the United States, with several hard-hit Caribbean islands including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands accounting for more than half of the fatalities.
Florida officials including Governor Rick Scott and US Senator Marco Rubio greeted Trump and vice-president Mike Pence in Fort Myers, Florida.
The president, wearing a white baseball cap with “USA” written on it, later visited Naples, near where Irma first reached the US mainland on Sunday, handed out sandwiches to residents at a feeding station under a blue shade pavilion.
