Miami-Dade mayor: 'We have to thank God'

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Monday that overall, the county fared pretty well during Hurricane Irma.

"We came out a lot better than the rest of the state and we have to thank God for that," said Gimenez.

In his first post-storm news conference, Gimenez shared his thoughts on the status of the county.

"We were spared the brunt of the storm," Gimenez said. "We still have a lot of impacts from the storm. We want to make sure everybody is safe."

Coastal areas of the county appeared to suffer the worst as Sky 10 flew over areas of Coconut Grove where several boats were washed ashore, including one on the football field of Ransom-Everglades School.

For another night, Miami-Dade will be under a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew and residents have been ordered to stay off the streets during that time.

The mayor also announced that several stores will soon be reopening, including 20 Sedanos locations that will open Monday.

Publix is expected to also be close to reopening all the store that will be accessible to residents.

A majority of homes in Miami-Dade remain without power, a condition that, for some, is expected to last weeks, despite FPL working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to get everyone back online.

"A lot of us are going to be inconvenienced," Gimenez said. "We won't have power for some time, but you know what, but when you look at the alternative, I'll take this."

County garbage services will resume once the roads are clear and safe to travel

Gimenez announced one generator-related death had occurred that will be attributed to the storm, but did not offer specifics.

Despite weeks of recovery ahead, Gimenez is pleased with the current state of the county, knowing things may have been a lot worse.

"Inconvenience is a great thing rather than having your home destroyed and your life significantly altered."