Hurricane Irma made landfall on Sunday morning local time in Florida Keys, bringing with it winds ranging up to 200-210 km/h, and the promise of devastation along the coastline.

At least three lives -- including that of a sheriff's deputy -- have already been lost, with chances running high that there is much more to come.

Many people in the US online -- when they are not busy posting updates and sharing news of possibly the worst hurricane in the history of the region -- are questioning the stand that US President Donald Trump has consistently taken on climate change and global warming.

When all this is over, the man who had in 2012 said in a tweet that global warming as a concept was "created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive" and had as President pulled the US out of the Paris Accord might have to face many tough questions.

However, there may still be some more days to that, because Category-4 Irma is being closely tailed by Hurricane Jose, which is intensifying as it approaches land.

The devastation

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that the eye of Hurricane Irma had made landfall at Florida Keys on Sunday at 9:10 am EDT.

Irma, which has so far ravaged Cuba and flattened parts of the Caribbean islands -- leaving at least 25 dead there -- had led to curfews being imposed in many parts across the Florida coast, including Miami beach.

"There is imminent danger of life-threatening storm surge flooding along much of the Florida west coast, including the Florida Keys, where a storm surge warning is in effect," said the National Hurricane Centre.

Hurricane Irma
Waves crash against the seafront boulevard El Malecon ahead of the passing of Hurricane Irma, in Havana, Cuba September 9.Reuters

"The threat of catastrophic storm surge flooding is highest along the southwest coast of Florida, where 10-15 feet [3-4.5 m] of inundation above ground level is expected. This is a life-threatening situation," it added.

Hard questions for Trump

So who is responsible for the destruction that Harvey has brought, Irma is bringing and Jose is threatening to bring?

While they all might be written off as natural disasters, Bob Ward -- policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, and also at the London School of Economics and Political Science -- lay the blame on Trump.

He wrote in an article in the Guardian: "The president's luxurious Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida may escape Irma's wrath, but with the deaths of so many Americans, and billions of dollars in damage to homes and businesses, the costs of climate change denial are beginning to pile up at the door of the White House."

Hurricane Irma
In picture: A man runs on the pier at Ballast Point Park ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma in Tampa, Florida, US, September 10, 2017.Reuters

He also said the lives and livelihood of many Americans -- possibly from the very climate change-denying sections that had chosen Trump president -- "will be at risk if Trump and his administration continue to deny the existence of climate change and its impact on the threat posed by hurricanes."

Many on Twitter seem to agree wholeheartedly with Ward. See what they are tweeting:

It now remains to be seen how Trump and his administration, who not only dismantled the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but also rolled back many checks on corporate actions put in place by predecessor Barack Obama, deal with the havoc wrought by Hurricane Irma.

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