Hurricane Irma's fierce winds blast into Florida

People walk down the street as winds and rain begin to hit as outer bands of Hurricane Irma arrive in Miami Beach, Florida.-AFP

Miami (AFP) - Hurricane Irma regained strength Sunday as it began pummeling Florida, lashing its southern island chain with hurricane-force wind gusts and threatening landfall within hours.

Irma, packing winds of 130 miles (210 kilometers) per hour, was upgraded to a Category 4 storm as it closed in on the Florida Keys, the US National Hurricane Center said, as more than six million Floridians -- a third of the state's population -- had been ordered to evacuate their homes ahead of the monster storm.