Millions told to flee the Florida coast
Irma trained its sights on Florida and officials warned more than five million people that time was running out to leave ahead of the deadly hurricane as it followed a path that could take it from one end of the state to the other.
By Friday evening, Irma was a slightly weakened Category 4 storm with winds of 250 km/h and forecasters said it could be back up to Category 5 when it lands near Key West Sunday morning.
Forecasters adjusted the storm’s potential track more toward the west coast of Florida, away from the Miami metropolitan area of six million people, meaning “a less costly, a less deadly storm,” University of Miami researcher Brian McNoldy said.
Nevertheless, forecasters warned that its hurricane-force winds were so wide they could reach from coast to coast, testing the nation’s third-largest state, which has undergone rapid development and more stringent hurricane-proof building codes in the last decade or so.
“This is a storm that will kill you if you don’t get out of the way,” National Hurricane Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said.
Irma killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean and left thousands homeless as it devastated small resort islands known for their warm, turquoise water.
In Florida, gas shortages and gridlock turned normally simple trips into tests of will.
“We’re getting out of this state,” said Manny Zuniga, who left his home in Miami at midnight Thursday to avoid the gridlock. Despite driving overnight, he still took 12 hours to reach Orlando — a trip that normally takes four hours. From there, he and his wife, two children, two dogs and a ferret were headed to Arkansas.
About 5.6 million people in Florida were ordered to get out and another 540,000 were told to leave the Georgia coast. Authorities opened hundreds of shelters for people who did not leave. Hotels as far away as Atlanta filled up with evacuees.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott he hasn’t reversed the southbound lanes because he said they were needed to deliver gas and supplies.
“If you are planning to leave and do not leave tonight, you will have to ride out this extremely dangerous storm at your own risk,” Scott said.
Tony Marcellus racked his brain to figure out a way to get his 67-year-old mother and 85-yearold grandfather out of their home five blocks from the ocean in West Palm Beach. He lives in Atlanta. He checked flights but found nothing and rental cars were sold out, so he settled on a modern method of evacuation. He hired an Uber to drive them to Orlando, where he met them to take them to Atlanta.
“I have peace of mind now,” said Marcellus’ mother, Celine Jean. “I’ve been worried sick for days.”
Disney World parks will close early Saturday and remain shuttered through Monday, as will Universal Orlando and Sea World.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he planned for enough space to hold 100,000 people before the storm arrives, although most shelters were only beginning to fill on Friday.