Hurricane Irma was to hit Florida on Saturday morning, but its path has moved westwards to cities along the state's coasts. The hurricane is likely to bring damages with its strong winds of up to 125 miles an hour. The National Hurricane Center has categorized Irma as a category 3 hurricane; this categorization comes after the storm hit several Caribbean islands. According to the center, the storm is likely to gain strength before hitting Florida coastlines as early as Sunday morning. Heavy rains are expected to dump eight to 15 inches of rain from Sunday morning all the way to Tuesday night.
Hurricane Irma
The storm has killed 22 people since Wednesday so far in the Caribbean. Damages of about $10 Billion have been recorded so far according to Bloomberg. Metrologists believe that the storm might be accompanied by high destructive winds, heavy rains, and tornadoes that might cause power outages. Authorities in Florida believe that Irma could be more destructive than Hurricane Andrew. 61 people died as a result of Hurricane Andrew's destructive force. Andrew which hit Florida 25 years ago left economic damages that could be worth $48 million today.
Collier County has so far begun evacuations early Saturday morning and has opened five more shelters. Evacuations in densely populated areas were mandatory.
50,000 people have already been placed in special shelters. 1,000 nurses have been dispatched in the area so far, and the state has requested for more volunteer nurses. 25,000 people in Southeast Florida have lost power so far due to the storm's strong tropical winds according to Florida's Governor Rick Scott.
The evacuation of about 5.6 million by the state has led to over bookings in hotels, traffic jams, overcrowded shelters, and fuel shortages.
Authorities have set up seven shelters in Miami-Dade County with a capacity of 20,000 people.
Emergency measures
Florida state governor declared a state of emergency in Florida on September 4. State offices have been closed since Thursday. In Georgia, a state of emergency was announced on September 6 by the state governor. A mandatory evacuation was ordered in the entire east of interstate 95, Chatham County and low lying areas west of I-95.
Other states of emergencies have been declared in South Carolina, Virginia, Alabama and Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Irma's destruction in the Caribbean
Damage costs in Bermuda are estimated to be $150 million. One infant drowned while a woman and his sister are missing according to the U.K Sun. The hurricane made damages worth $2.28 billion Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin. 11 people have also been reported dead in this two regions. Vehicles and furniture were carried by water in the city of Gustavia as streets turned into rushing rivers while a majority of residents in the capital were left without phone services, electricity, and water. A man died in Puerto Rico while fixing his roof while another died after being struck by lightning.
More than a million residents are without power according to a former Puerto Rican governor Garcia Padilla. Other areas affected by the hurricane include Barbados, Bermuda, U.S Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten and Anguilla according to the Guardian.
