Irma begins assault on Florida Indian temples, charities offer shelter to evacuees
HURRICANE GAINS STRENGTH Storm expected to remain a Category 4 as it hits state’s west coast
ST PETERSBURG: Hurricane Irma roared through the Florida Keys on Sunday with punishing 130 mph winds and began pushing its way north, knocking out power to more than 1.5 million people across the state and collapsing a construction crane over the Miami skyline.
The nearly 400-mile-wide storm is expected to make as low, ruinous march up Florida’ s west coast, straight toward the heavily populatedTampa-St Petersburg area by Monday morning.
Streets emptied across the bottom half of the Florida peninsula, and some 127,000 people huddled in shelters.
“Pray, pray for everybody in Florida,” Governor Rick Scott said. Flooding, roof damage and floating appliances and furniture were reported in the low-lying Keys, but with the storm still hitting around midday, the full extent of Irma’s wrath was not clear. There were no immediate confirmed reports of any deaths from the storm.
While the projected track showed Irma raking the state’s Gulf Coast, forecasters warned that the entire state — including the Miami metropolitan area of 6 millionpeople—wasinextreme danger from the monstrously wide storm.
Nearly 7 million people in the Southeast were warned to get out of harm’s way, including 6.4 million in Florida alone.
About 30,000 people heeded orders to evacuate the Keys as the storm closed in, but an untold number refused to leave, in part because to many storm-hardened residents, staying behind in the face of danger is a point of pride.
In downtown Miami, one of two dozen construction cranes looming over the skyline collapsed atop a high-rise in Irma’s winds. There was no immediate word on any damage or injuries. City officials said it would have taken about two weeks to have moved the cranes out of harm’s way. Irma made land fall just after 9 am at Cud joe Key, about 20 miles outside Key West, forecasters said. By late morning, it was advancing toward Florida’s southwestern corner, moving at 9 mph.
Key West Police urged anyone riding out the storm in that city to “resist the urge” to go outside during the eye, the deceptively calm interlude in the middle of a hurricane. “Dangerous winds will follow quickly ,” police said in a Facebook post.
“Once this system passes through, it’s going to be a race to save lives and sustain lives ,” Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Brock Long said. Irma was at one time the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic, with peak wind speed of 185 mph. WASHINGTON: She flew in from Tampa and headed for a friend’s home an hour from the Atlanta airport. But it was getting late and friends suggested the Hindu Temple in Atlanta was a safe alternative, at least for the night.
She is a Muslim from Mumbai, and came to the US to study at the University of South Florida.
The temple is taking in people as they come in, unannounced but worried for the well-being of their families.
“We are taking in everyone irrespective of caste, colour or religion,” Sai Ram, a trustee of the temple said.
An estimated 6.4 million peo-
› The US Coast Guard, FEMA and all Federal and State brave people are ready. Here comes Irma. God bless everyone! DONALD TRUMP, on Twitter
ple in Florida have been asked to move to safer areas to escape the Hurricane.
People have the option of moving into the nearest shelters run by the government, charities, churches and organizations with access to large spaces. Some, like the university student, are crossing into the adjoining state of Georgia to the north or beyond.
From the consulate general in Atlanta, Indian officials are monitoring the situation for those who need help. They estimate there are 125,000 Indians in the area.
“The situation seems OK for this time,” said Sandeep Chakraborty, the New York consul general who has moved to Atlanta to oversee Indian government’s relief and rescue operations and who has been in touch with Indian American community leaders in most Florida cities.
The consulate has set up emergency helplines that will run round the clock. The numbers are +14044052567 and +16787179393 in Atlanta, and +1202 258 8819 for the Indian embassy in Washington.