TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG BRACING FOR DIRECT HIT

WHAT’S AHEAD FOR IRMA?

While the projected track showed Irma raking the state’s Gulf Coast, forecasters warned that the entire state — including the Miami metropolitan area of six million people — was in extreme peril. The Tampa-St. Petersburg area, with a population of about three million, was bracing for a direct hit early Monday.

BAY DANGER

Irma pushed water out of a bay in Tampa, but forecasters told people not to venture out there, because it was going to return with a potentially deadly vengeance. “MOVE AWAY FROM THE WATER!” said the U.S. Hurricane Center in an urgent alert warning of a “life-threatening storm surge inundation of 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 metres) above ground level.” The waters retracted on what was Old Tampa Bay because the leading wind bands of Irma whipped the coastal water more out to sea. But once the eye passes and the wind reversed, the water would rush back in.

VULNERABLE

A 2013 World Bank study that ranked cities according to their vulnerability to major storms placed Tampa at number seven — among all cities in the world. Vulnerable structures range from the towering Sunshine Skyway Bridge to toxic waste sites from the state’s phosphorous mining industry. A report released in June by CoreLogic, a global property information firm, said nearly 455,000 Tampa Bay homes could be damaged by hurricane storm surges, the most in any major metro area except Miami and New York City. And rebuilding all those homes could cost US$80.6 billion, the report said.

GEORGIA THREATENED

Gov. Nathan Deal declared an emergency for the entire state of Georgia on Sunday. The Hurricane Center predicted Irma’s centre would cross into southwest Georgia on Monday. A hurricane warning was issued for communities including Albany and Valdosta. A tropical storm warning also was issued for Atlanta, where wind gusts could reach 140 km/h. Storm surge along the Georgia/ South Carolina coast would be a hazard as well, with the Hurricane Center predicting a surge of up to two metres.

FLORIDA PREPARES

Officials in Florida have set aside nearly three million litres of water, filled 67 trailers with meals, and amassed 24,000 tarps. They also have asked the federal government to kick in 11 million meals and millions more litres of water, plus nearly 700 cases of baby supplies.

‘BREAKS MY HEART’

For a moment early Sunday, the devastation seemed to break through one broadcaster’s professional demeanour as she reacted to predictions about the destructive — and likely deadly — storm surge. Dani Beckstrom, a weather forecaster for Fox 4 News in Fort Myers, was looking at detailed radar images that anticipated the storm surge — the wall of ocean water that would push into Florida’s coastal communities. “This is unbelievable,” she said. “It just breaks my heart.” She added, “But we are looking at Sanibel being completely underwater as the storm surge moves ... it’s going to push that wall of water over the entire island.”