it's left behind becomes clearer. it's still lashing florida's west coast and causing flooding. half the homes in the state are without power. sheer devastation every way you look. the parking lot is flooded. sheer devastation every way you look. the parking lot is floodedm florida and the caribbean governments prepare for the clear up. mps are debating the eu repeal bill — ministers say opposing it is voting for a chaotic brexit. more than 300,000 rohingya muslims have now fled myanmar — a top un official calls it "ethnic cleansing". how do we will fill britain's energy gap? the answer is blowing in the wind — prices are tumbling. good evening

and welcome to the bbc news at six. in florida, in the caribbean — government officials and aid agencies gearing up for one of the biggest relief operations the region has seen. hurricane irma has been downgraded to a storm but as it travelled across the caribbean to florida it left at least 30 people dead and cities flooded. in a moment, we'll be hearing from cuba which was battered by massive waves — reportedly 36 feet high. and we'll be in the british virgin islands where

the aid is finally getting through. but first to florida where up to six million homes — that's more than half the population — are without power. aleem maqbool is in miami. hurricane irma surprised a lot of people again. it's projected path saw it going off the west coast of florida but instead it cut inside and travelled up the length of the state. now the tropical storm is affecting neighbouring states. here in florida, more than 60% of homes without power and many tens of thousands of people are still in shelters. after a day of darkness and fury, miami opened its eyes to the aftermath. this city is now littered with the hurricane‘s debris. boats were even lifted clean—out of the bay and dumped on the shore. people here are emerging from their shelters

and barricaded homes to try to start clearing up. so, you got up this morning, and what did you find? sheer devastation. everywhere you look. the parking lot is still flooded. cars, you know, trees falling down. in spite of all the preparation for the storm, millions are now without power. this city's financial district has been badly affected. it was underwater during the hurricane, inundated with with massive coastal waves as irma passed. 2a hours ago, there was simply no way i would have been able to stand here in part of miami, notjust because of those high winds but flooding as well. the water may have receded, but that has just allowed people to move about and discover the damage that irma has left behind. in the city of naples in the west of the state, petrol stations and mobile homes were torn apart. and, in the florida keys, there are areas where irma ravaged homes and belongings.

but we just don't know the full extent of the damage in remote areas. it is only now the storm has passed that the national guard can go in and start rescue operations. when americans are in need, americans pull together, and we are one country, and when we face hardship, we emerge closer, stronger, and more determined than ever. though, even as the storm was still affecting this area, looters took advantage. with millions told to evacuate and so many in shelters, there was little to stop them. untiljust days ago, miami was packed with tourists, who all fled. they can be welcomed back here to south beach. as irma moves away from cuba's

coast, the full extent of the devastation she left behind is becoming clear. cuba remains an island without power, the electricity knocked out when the storm hit havana. thousands of families have been left without homes after storm—surged waters engulfed whole neighbourhoods. translation: it has been a huge catastrophe. my home and my business, everything is ruined. translation: we lost everything, the refrigerator, the televisions, we have no food, we have no drinking water. and they were the lucky ones. the cuban government announced that ten people were killed in the hurricane. just down the coast from havana is cojimar, a small fishing village which inspired ernest hemingway to write the old man and the sea. today, it is picking through

the rubble after the epic storm whose magnitude was the stuff of novels. hurricane irma hit more thanjust this coastline when she passed through. she also dealt a severe blow to the main motor of cuba's economy — its tourism. the clean—up of the damaged infrastructure will take months, and many millions the island simply doesn't have. there are, of course, plenty of people whose holiday plans have already been ruined. as irma approached, more than 30,000 tourists were evacuated from the outlying keys and brought further west. now, days later, their patience is wearing thin. british citizens, they should have been afforded some sort of money, put to one side to be given to the tour operator or whoever, to be able to get empty planes out here in time to get everybody out. thomas cook has defended its response, saying it followed the cuban

government's instructions to the letter. the foreign office, too, has said it acted correctly under the circumstances. nevertheless, the bigger picture for the island remains grim. a downturn in tourism will affect ordinary people, many of whom are already hurting badly as they wait for the floodwaters to recede. will grant, bbc news, cuba. as we've heard hurricane irma lost much of its destructive power as it travelled up florida's west coast. so, is that the end of it? ben rich is here. it feels like we've been watching this one for days. this storm has been on quite a journey. as we've watched irma moving up the atlantique, the storm has travelled approximately 3700 miles. it has spent 11 days at hurricane irma strength. it brought sustained winds

of 185 mph. as it made landfall across the islands of barbuda during the middle parts of last week. it lost some of strength as it crossed the caribbean but only some and it was a majorfor the caribbean but only some and it was a major for category storm macro. those wins helping to whip up sea water. there was the rain as well. even reports of tornadoes. the storm has now we can. no longer a hurricane. it will continue to wea ken hurricane. it will continue to weaken as it pushes north over the next number of days. however, we have to keep a close eye on the weather over this part of the world. looming large, we have hurricane

jose, not yet as strong as irma was but at the moment meandering aimlessly. but it could still strengthen and may even hit florida. this story still could have more to come. mps are set for a long night — the vote on the bill that will transfer all eu laws into british law and pave the way for brexit is not till midnight. downing street says it's confident that the vote will go the government's way. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg is in westminster. how is the arithmetic looking? as long as all government mps do what they are told, they are relatively confident that they will get this bill at this stage through tonight. there's been all sorts of efforts to get people here. two mps brought

their baby to work today to be here for the vote. ministers have said that it must pass to make sure that the day after we leave the u there isa the day after we leave the u there is a law of the land. now, thousands of our law come from the european union and have to be transposed onto the statute books for there to be anything in place in 2019. the more controversial part is ministers also wa nt to controversial part is ministers also want to give themselves extra authority to change those laws at a future date. it's that that has got the labour party, some tories, the lib dems and the snp really having their neck up about this. they do not like the suggestion. they believe ministers are trying to grab power and are able to behave on a whim without consulting mps. this first vote on this huge bill looks like the fragile government arithmetic will hold because tory

rebels are keeping their powder dry for many more occasions through the coming months and also there are some labour mps who are worried that if they vote against a could look like they are somehow trying to block grexit and go against the decision of the people. —— block brexit. it looks as though the government will get their way but there are 20 more occasions where there are 20 more occasions where the mps will make them sweat until the mps will make them sweat until the early hours. and it won't surprise you to hear that brexit dominated proceedings at the tuc annual conference. the general secretary frances 0'grady has called on politicians from all parties not to rule out staying inside the single market after britain leaves the eu. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. as brexit looms, navigating a future relationship with the across the channel is proving tricky. technically, the tuc is calling for

staying inside the single market permanently even if it means more immigration. don't rule yourself out, keep options on the table and putjobs, rights, out, keep options on the table and put jobs, rights, and out, keep options on the table and putjobs, rights, and livelihoods first. not everything at the tuc happens on the conference floor. in the smoke—free rooms, some of the unions which fund the labour party are putting real pressure onjeremy corbyn. the first victory, as they see it, is getting him to sign up to single market membership during transition. now they want him to go further. today it sounded like they we re further. today it sounded like they were having some success. there has to bea were having some success. there has to be a trade relationship with europe, formerly within the single market or whether it is an agreement to trade within the single market. i think it is open for discussion and

negotiation. labour were quick to point out that this didn't signal a change in policy. 0thers point out that this didn't signal a change in policy. others want him to move in the other direction. we want to be ina move in the other direction. we want to be in a position where leave mean to be in a position where leave mean to leave and some people want to use the single market as a trojan horse to keep others in europe. but the tuc leadership is hoping to make the political weather on brexit. they are trying to put clear blue water between them and the government on eu and the single market. the time is 13 minutes past six. our top story this evening. hurricane irma is downgraded to a storm, but the devastation it's left behind becomes clearer. still to come: they banged the drum for devolution, but 20 years on, what has it delivered for scotland ? coming up in sportsday on bbc news, roy hodgson is expected to succeed frank de boer as crystal palace manager with the former england manager set to sign a two—year

contract at selhurst park. myanmar‘s treatment of rohingya muslims is a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, according to the united nations. a senior official has called for an end to what he called a cruel military operation. the violence began more than two weeks ago after rohingya militants attacked police posts in rakhine state. after the government's counterattack, more than 300,000 rohingyas have arrived in neighbouring bangladesh. 0ur correspondent sanjoy majumder reports from cox's bazar, close to the border. when you are starving, you get desperate, and then it becomes dangerous. this aid truck is surrounded by a seething mass of rohingyas. the organisers, private donors, have brought rice, but are too nervous to hand it out.

there is no sign of the police, and things begin to turn ugly. fights break out, volunteers try to enforce a sense of order, but it is utterly futile. those who cannot muscle their way are left defeated and helpless. this aid operation is slowly but surely spinning out of control. translation: i have five people in myfamily, including two small children. most nights, they just go to bed hungry. local groups and individuals are doing their best, but are entirely out of their depth. you get a sense of the desperation. people have just climbed onto this little van, trying their best to get hold of little bags of rice that are being handed out, but it is utterly chaotic. there is no sense of order, nobody is actually coordinating it, and then look over here.

these are clothes that have just been flung on the ground. thrown from the aid trucks as they rush away from the scene. well—meaning, but an utterly wasted effort. it's a struggle for the rohingyas, already traumatised after the violence that forced them out of their villages in myanmar. and what strikes you is how many of them are children. too young to perhaps fully understand what has happened, yet the terror of what they have experienced is never too far away. it has taken this boy ten days to walk to bangladesh, one day for each year of his life. translation: it was a really difficult journey, and now, we live in this camp, where we have to climb down the steep hill to get water. it's hard, but i am happier here than back there. they have managed to escape with their lives, but now the rohingyas are facing a new struggle —

trying to survive in their new home. there are huge variations in patients' access to nhs senior psychiatrists across the uk, according to new research. the patchy coverage — with some areas having twice as many psychiatrists as others — can lead to people being sent further from home for care. and, as our health editor hugh pym reports, that can mean more stress for patients and their families. they try to remember ben in happier times before his mental illness became serious, but that's never easy for his mother pauline and brother derek. they believe he was let down by local services, and they are angry he was sent 180 miles from home, where he is still in residential psychiatric care. it's totally horrendous. they should never have done this. there should be something in this time. something

here to meet my son's needs, because he has deteriorated to such a degree, i don't know what the outcome of this is going to be now. new research reveals widespread variations around the uk in the number of consultant psychiatrists. in scotland, there are ten consultants per 100,000 people. in wales, there are six. in northern ireland and england there are eight, but while the north, central and east london area has 13 specialists per 100,000, it's just five in the east of england and yorkshire & humber. there's been what we call an explosion in interest and understanding of mental health problems, but the services in place to help people haven't really kept up with that, so we need to have more staff on the front line helping people. the department of health said there were plans to recruit 21,000 new mental health staff in england. the welsh government said they were improving access to services and extending recruitment.

but as far as pauline's concerned, the current state of mental health services has driven her apart from her son. it means to me that i cannot visit my son. they've made it impossible for me to see my son on a monthly or weekly basis. it's made it impossible for my boy to come to see me, as he'd love to come home for mum's dinner. it's not there. it shouldn't have happened. it shouldn't be allowed to happen to ben, to my family, to anybody‘s family. it's not acceptable. more specialists are being recruited, but that will take time, and pauline feels there's no time to spare when it comes to her son and his care. hugh pym, bbc news. a lorry driver has appeared in court charged with causing the deaths of eight people in a crash on the m1 motorway over the august bank holiday weekend. 53—year—old david wagstaff — seen here on the left — faces eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving, and four

counts of causing serious injury. all of those who were killed or injured were travelling in a minibus. he'll appear in court again next month. badger culling has been given the go—ahead in 11 new areas of england as part of efforts to tackle tuberculosis in cattle. badgers are carriers of tb, and culling will now take place across devon, dorset, somerset, wiltshire and cheshire. the government is also restarting a badger vaccination programme to stop the spread of the disease to new areas. there's been a big boost for environmentalists campaigning for a much greater role for renewable energy. for the first time the cost of the subsidies the government pays to developers building offshore wind farms has dropped below the cost of supporting nuclear power stations. but nuclear firms say the uk still needs a mix of energy provision especially when wind power is not available. here's our science editor david shukman. around the clock, in a massive

programme of construction, wind turbines are being built in the seas around britain. a monumental engineering challenge which, for years, meant this was one of the most expensive ways of generating power. the construction teams had to learn the new skills of a young industry. part of the problem is scale. a few years ago, i stood beside one of the blades, and it takes a shot like this to try to conveyjust how massive these machines have become. but the bigger they are, the more efficient they can be, and as the technology has improved, the cost of the latest projects have fallen dramatically. today's news we always knew would be impressive, but the results we've seen come back from the auction are nothing short of astounding, and that's even for those of us that work in the energy sector. a key factor is that new techniques have accelerated the production lines. this one is in hull. they are becoming more streamlined, and therefore much cheaper. only two years ago, offshore wind

projects were getting subsidies of up to £120 per megawatt hour — that's the usual measure of electricity generation. but the latest subsidies are far lower, at £57.50, and compare that to the new hinkley point c nuclear power station, with subsidies of £92.50 per megawatt hour. that huge project was recently criticised as poor value for money, but supporters of nuclear power, including the government, say it's consistent, while wind is intermittent. you need to make sure you've got electricity being generated even when the wind isn't blowing, but we've always said, just as the price of wind has come down so sharply because of our commitment to it, we want and expect the price of new nuclear to fall. i once climbed up inside a wind turbine out at sea. it was a very long way. after years of uncertainty about whether these vast machines could deliver,

their future around our island nation now looks a lot more certain. david shukman, bbc news. crystal palace have sacked their dutch manager, frank de boer, just four games into the new season. that's a premier league record. the south london side have lost all their matches without scoring a goal. former england manager roy hodgson is believed to be among the favourites to take over. today marks the 20th anniversary of the 1997 devolution referendum, which led to the creation of the scottish parliament in edinburgh. that decision altered politics in scotland. lorna gordon has been crossing the nation to see how much people's lives have changed — 20 years on. it was a year that saw many new beginnings. tony blair entered downing street. harry potter hit the shelves for the first time. by the

autumn, scotland was looking towards autumn, scotland was looking towards a new era. it was raining, snowing... these people were part of what was known as the vigil for democracy. it became a focal point for the campaign for a scottish parliament. theirfive—year for the campaign for a scottish parliament. their five—year long vigil ended on the day the result came in. we were a small part of a bigger movement. a small part of the bigger movement. a small part of the bigger movement. a small part of the bigger movement. i was proud to be pa rt of bigger movement. i was proud to be part of it. there was no kind of triumphalism, even on the night when the whiskey was flowing freely and the whiskey was flowing freely and the pipes were playing and the people were dancing and singing. not eve ryo ne people were dancing and singing. not everyone was pleased with the results. i will be honest, everyone was pleased with the results. iwill be honest, ivoted against. jim watson didn't think scotla nd against. jim watson didn't think scotland needed a parliament, but his nephew jamie has scotland needed a parliament, but his nephewjamie has lived his whole life under devolution, and can't

imagine itany life under devolution, and can't imagine it any other way. life under devolution, and can't imagine it any other waym life under devolution, and can't imagine it any other way. if you know there is a scottish government 01’ know there is a scottish government or parliament, it seems a lot closer and you can argue for change. it seems more realistic that can happen. has your view on it changed now? no, i don't think so. i don't watch any of the debates in the scottish parliament or anything like that. you just have to grin and bear it. from the beaches of argyll and bute to these potters in aberdeen, in this snapshot of public opinion, what do they think of how the parliament has done? there's been some amazing improvements. free education, no prescription fees. 0ne of my favourite is the right to roam. things aren't post it. things are going in the right direction. there will always be political agendas. the referendum triggered the biggest change in how scotland was governed for 300 years. the

parliament at holyrood has seen achievements and controversy. now it moves beyond its youthful first three years. earlier we promised you a report from the british virgin islands for the latest on the situation there. we can now speak to our correspondent there. people here are hungry. they are tired, and they are desperate for anything they can eat. when it came to the opening of this supermarket and hour ago, there were chaotic scenes. people had been waiting for eight hours in temperatures of over 30 celsius. they are looking for basic supplies — water, canned juice. they are looking for basic supplies — water, cannedjuice. forthe they are looking for basic supplies — water, canned juice. for the more remote — water, canned juice. for the more re m ote parts — water, canned juice. for the more remote parts of the island, access routes are opening, so people are entering this main hub of roads now, desperately needing information and

sustenance. when it comes to the basic supply of aid, we are told aid has arrived on the island, but we are yet to see it distributed. i'm told by the foreign and commonwealth 0ffice told by the foreign and commonwealth office and that it had been given to the evacuation shelters, so people are waiting for it to be given to the wider population. i've been told that it's simply not true that people are not hungry, but i've been here on this island for the last five days, and that's not what they tell me. i've seen real strength and determination, but now i am seeing real desperation. thank you for that update. time for a look at the weather now. nothing on the scale of hurricane irma, but some fairly turbulent weather to come in the next few days. that was the scene in southend. heaviest showers across eastern areas with some lightning

and rumbles of thunder. through this evening, the showers will tend to ease off. 0ne evening, the showers will tend to ease off. one or two showers will continue feeding into western areas overnight, but some dry weather and clearer spells, enough of a breeze to stop it getting too cold. tomorrow should bring fewer showers and more in the way of dry weather, spells of sunshine and lighter winds. eastern scotland, eastern england should stay dry all day long. always a chance of showers out west, and later in the day for northern ireland, a band of rain making its way in. turning very 5°99y making its way in. turning very soggy indeed in time for the rush hourin soggy indeed in time for the rush hour in belfast, and also turning very windy. into the early part of wednesday, heavy rain and gales could cause some travel destruction, so could cause some travel destruction, so listen to your bbc local radio station. notice the white lines

really squeezing together. for the south coast of england, gusts of around 50 miles an hour. 55 miles an hourfor around 50 miles an hour. 55 miles an hour for the likes of the scottish borders, but for parts of north wales and parts of northern england, maybe up to 75 miles an hour. heavy rain as well. could cause some travel problems in wednesday evening. that will clear away, leaving a mixture of sunshine and showers. new line thank you 0n thank you bbc one, we nowjoin the bbc‘s news hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: us authorities are assessing the damage caused in florida by hurricane irma.