Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida Keys
Millions of state residents ordered to leave as storm now threatens direct hit on Tampa
“You need to leave — not tonight, not in an hour, right now.” RICK SCOTT FLORIDA GOVERNOR WARNS RESIDENTS IN EVACUATION ZONES TO GET OUT
NAPLES, FLA.— Hurricane Irma’s leading edge bent palm trees and pelted rain as the storm swirled toward Florida with 195 km/h winds Saturday on a projected new track that could expose Tampa — not Miami — to a direct hit.
Tampa has not taken a head-on blow from a major hurricane in nearly a century.
An estimated 70,000 Floridians huddled in shelters as Irma closed in on the Florida Keys, where it was expected to roll ashore Sunday morning and begin making its way up the state’s Gulf coast.
In one of the biggest evacuations ever ordered in the U.S., about 6.4 million people in Florida — more than one-quarter of the state’s population — were warned to leave, and 540,000 were directed to leave the Georgia coast.
“You need to leave — not tonight, not in an hour, right now,” Gov. Rick Scott warned residents in evacuation zones.
Earlier in the day, Irma took a westward swing toward Florida’s Gulf Coast that appeared to spare the Miami metropolitan area of the catastrophic direct hit forecasters had been warning of for days.
Still, Miami was not out of danger. Because the storm is up to 645 kilometres wide, forecasters said the metro area could still get life-threatening winds and storm surge of up to two metres.
Irma — at one time the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic — has left more than 20 people dead across resort islands such as St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Thomas and Barbuda as it steamed toward the mainland U.S.
The hurricane battered Cuba with deafening winds and relentless rain Saturday, while a second hurricane, Jose, threatened to lash already-reeling islands elsewhere in the Caribbean.
Across a swath of Cuba, utility poles were toppled, trees uprooted and roads blocked, but there were no immediate reports of fatalities.
Eastern Cuba, a major sugar canegrowing area and home to many poor, rural communities, faced a staggering recovery, with its economy in tatters even before the storm hit due to years of neglect and lack of investment.
More than 5,000 tourists were evacuated from the keys off Cuba’s north-central coast, where the government has built dozens of all-inclusive resorts in recent years.
On the Dutch side of St. Maarten, an island divided between French and Dutch control, an estimated 70 per cent of the homes were destroyed by Irma, according to the Dutch government.
Looting was reported on the island. Curfews were imposed there and on St. Barts, and French and Dutch authorities announced plans to send hundreds more troops and police to keep order.
Late Saturday night, Irma was chugging toward Florida as a Category 3, with winds down considerably from their peak of 300 km/h earlier in the week. But it was expected to strengthen again before hitting the Sunshine State.
Meteorologists predicted Irma would plow into the Tampa Bay area by Monday morning. Tampa has not been struck by a major hurricane since 1921, when its population was about 10,000, National Hurricane Center spokesperson Dennis Feltgen said. Now the area has around 3 million people.
The new course threatens everything from Tampa Bay’s bustling twin cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg to Naples’ mansion- and yachtlined canals, Sun City Center’s retirement homes, and Sanibel Island’s shell-filled beaches.
The course change caught many people off guard and triggered a major round of evacuations in the Tampa area. Many businesses had yet to put plywood or hurricane shutters on their windows, and some locals grumbled about the forecast.
“For five days, we were told it was going to be on the east coast, and then 24 hours before it hits, we’re now told it’s coming up the west coast,” said Jeff Beerbohm, a 52year-old entrepreneur in St. Petersburg. “As usual, the weatherman, I don’t know why they’re paid.”
Nearly the entire Florida coastline remained under hurricane watches and warnings, and leery residents watched a projected track that could still shift to spare, or savage, parts of the state.
Forecasters warned of storm surge as high as five metres.
“This is going to sneak up on people,” said Jamie Rhome, head of the hurricane centre’s storm surge unit.
With the new forecast, Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, ordered 260,000 people to leave, while Georgia scaled back evacuation orders for some coastal residents. Motorists heading inland from the Tampa area were allowed to drive on the shoulders.
On Saturday morning, the state was already beginning to feel Irma’s effects. More than 75,000 people had lost power, mostly in and around Miami and Fort Lauderdale, as the wind began gusting. By Saturday night, winds near hurricane force were re- corded in the Keys.
In Key West, 60-year-old Carol Walterson Stroud sought refuge in a senior centre with her husband, granddaughter and dog. The streets were nearly empty, shops were boarded up and the wind started to blow.
“Tonight, I’m sweating,” she said. “Tonight, I’m scared to death.”
At Germain Arena not far from Fort Myers, on Florida’s southwestern corner, thousands waited in a snaking line for hours to gain a spot in the hockey venue-turned-shelter.
The governor activated all 7,000 members of the Florida National Guard, and 30,000 guardsmen from elsewhere were on standby.
In the Orlando area, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World all closed for the weekend. The Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando airports shut down. Given its mammoth size and strength and its projected course, it could prove one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to hit Florida and inflict damage on a scale not seen here in 25 years.
Hurricane Andrew smashed into suburban Miami in 1992 with winds topping 265 kph, damaging or blowing apart over 125,000 homes. The damage in Florida totalled $26 billion, and at least 40 people died.
Hurricane Katia struck the east coast of Mexico early Saturday as a Category 1 storm.
Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico’s national emergency services agency, said two people were killed by the hurricane, which roared ashore in Veracruz state, pelting the region with intense rains and winds.
The hurricane quickly lost strength after hitting land and was downgraded to a tropical storm.