Social Media Gives First Hand Look At Hurricane Irma's Wrath

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- People in the path of Hurricane Irma have been taking to social media to share their photos and videos.

With downed phone and power lines, those who can get out a signal are sharing with the world what they are seeing from their front door.

The images and videos show the magnitude of Irma first hand.

The destructive storm came in with a bang in Boca Raton, with power lines exploding and shooting off blue sparks.

In Polk County, east of Tampa, a sheriff and a paramedic were trapped inside a police cruiser for two hours under live electrical lines.

The most magical place on earth, Disney World, was a ghost town at 2 a.m.

Video from the Martin County Sheriff's Office showed the Marine Unit rescuing a couple who attempted to ride out the Category 4 storm on their sailboat.

During the height of the storm, Miami was placed under a tornado warning, winds and storm surge took over the streets the combination created a swirl in between high-rise buildings.

Howling winds battered against the doors of Miami Airport, now closed for business.

Further north, before the storm surge hit, the hurricane sucked the water out of Tampa Bay.

In Lutz, just north of Tampa, the rising waters carried wildlife.

One man found a catfish writhing on dry ground.

In Miami, a family barricaded inside cheered on a squirrel making its way across a power line, fighting heavy winds.

In Fort Lauderdale a giant construction crane was knocked loose spinning like a top, no match against Irma.

In Miami, two more cranes broke under the pressure.

"I heard a loud crack and then a boom, I looked out the window and saw some of the remnants of the crane falling down on the building," said Gordon Apé.

This was during the worst of the storm which has now been downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves over Florida toward southern Georgia.

In:
• Hurricane Irma
• Magdalena Doris