Homeless seek cover where ever they can find it as Irma nears

The streets of downtown Miami and Miami Beach were mostly empty Saturday morning, except for a scattering of homeless people with no place to go as Hurricane Irma’s winds began to pick up.

In downtown Miami, three slept on the sidewalk on Flagler Street in front of the Miami-Dade Public Library. Others walked here and there. Some gathered on street corners. One woman, her hands folded as if in prayer, muttered as she looked up toward the sky.

Guatemala native Carlos Mena, 67, sought shelter at a bus bench outside the library. Asked if he would go indoors at some point later in the day, he simply shook his head: “No problem,” he said. “No hay problema.”

A homeless man was sleeping in front of the Carl Fisher Post Office Branch on West Avenue in Miami Beach Saturday morning between bands from Hurricane Irma.