Eight patients dead after Hurricane Irma cuts off Florida care home power

Eight patients have died after their Florida care home lost power during Hurricane Irma, according to authorities.

The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills had been left without electricity for some time when Irma struck the Sunshine State on Sunday.

Rescue teams responded to an emergency call on Wednesday and found two elderly residents dead at the facility.

The other patients died later in hospital. Their causes of death have not been confirmed.

Some 115 vulnerable people were evacuated from the residence in total.

A Florida family looks on as their home is surrounded by flood water. Credit: AP

Elsewhere, at least 13 people are believed to have been killed in Florida in Irma-related circumstances.

One of those included a man injured by his own chainsaw while he tried clearing a felled tree.

Irma has also been blamed for the death of four people in South Carolina and two in Georgia.

It also claimed the lives of 37 people when it devastated many parts of the Caribbean.

At least 13 people across Florida have been killed. Credit: AP

Insurers have warned that damage across Florida will cost tens of billions of dollars.

Some 25% of homes on Florida Keys, the set of islands off the state's southern tip, are [estimated to have been destroyed.](http://Florida Keys suffers brunt of Irma damage in US)

Around 9.5 million people, roughly half the state's population, remain without power.

Officials warn it could take upward of 10 days for power to be fully restored.

Approximately 110,000 people remain in shelters across Florida.