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Hurricane Irma: Florida braces for epic storm as death toll hits 23 – latest updates Hurricane Irma: Florida braces for epic storm as death toll hits 23 – latest updates
(35 minutes later)
10.20pm BST
22:20
President Donald Trump has signed a $15.3bn aid package for areas affected by hurricane Harvey, hours after Congress overcame dissent by Republicans on a spending package.
The deal does not yet account for the expected high costs from hurricane Irma. In 1992, hurricane Andrew struck west of Miami, destroyed more than 60,000 homes, and killed 65 people. The recovery cost an estimated $26.5bn. Andrew struck as a category five storm, but was in some ways pales in comparison to Irma.
Irma is expected to make landfall as a category four storm, but its width is far larger than Andrew’s, and it held sustained winds of 185mph for 24 hours – longer than any recorded storm. Its winds are expected to devastate south Florida, and an analysis by the reinsurance company Swiss Re estimated that its damages could cost the US more than $100bn.
.@POTUS just signed H.R. 601 providing much needed support for storm survivors. Our thoughts and prayers are with all impacted.
10.10pm BST
22:10
French authorities in St Martin and St Barts have reported two more deaths, according to the AP, and police in Broward County, Florida, have said a 57-year-old man died while preparing for the storm.
The Davie Police Department said on Friday that the man, who was affixing storm shutters to the second story of a home, fell from a two-story ladder and struck his head on a patio below.
The AP has also spoken with the surf instructor and family friend of a teenager who died off Barbados, in waves made dangerous by Irma. There are now 11 confirmed deaths on St Martin and St Barts, four in the US Virgin Islands, three on Puerto Rico, two on Dutch St Maarten, and one person killed on Barbuda and Anguilla respectively. There were also four reported deaths on the British Virgin Islands, though local authorities have not yet confirmed the report.
9.59pm BST
21:59
Hurricane Katia is approaching the coast of Mexico, the National Weather Service has said in its latest update, warning that the storm will make landfall on Friday night or early Saturday.
The storm will have maximum winds around 105mph (165kph), and that “a dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as five to eight feet above normal tide levels” in the area of landfall, the agency said. “Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.”
The storm is expected to bring 10-15in of rain over Veracruz, eastern Hidalgo and Puebla, and two to five inches over Tamaulipas, east San Luis Potosi, western Hidalgo, eastern Queretaro and southern Veracruz. “This rainfall will likely cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especialy in areas of mountainous terrain.”
Mexico is already reeling from the strongest earthquake in 85 years, which struck on Thursday night and caused the deaths of at least 58 people. The epicenter of the quake was just off Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Hurricane #Katia Advisory 13: Katia Nearing the Coast of Mexico. Dangerous Storm Surge Expected. https://t.co/VqHn0uj6EM
9.37pm BST9.37pm BST
21:3721:37
Climate Central has simulated south Florida’s biggest cities in the midst of a high-tide storm surge – as much as 10 or 12ft – with a model that shows homes flooded up to their rooftops, a swamped airport, and the marinas, boardwalks, and docks of downtown Miami completely under water. *Update: Climate Central has retracted a simulation of Irma’s potential effect on Miami and other south Florida cities, saying in a statement that it had used “an incorrect tidal point reference” in calculating the severity of floods.
This is what Miami could look like by Sunday morning if the Friday morning #Irma surge forecast verifies pic.twitter.com/OYdzjZO5sT Our previous visualization contained an error that we regret. Details below pic.twitter.com/ThZoR6BSgg
Updated
at 10.01pm BST
9.21pm BST9.21pm BST
21:2121:21
Mayor Sharief echoes her peers around the state, warning residents that once the storm strikes, much of the state will be paralyzed for its duration.Mayor Sharief echoes her peers around the state, warning residents that once the storm strikes, much of the state will be paralyzed for its duration.
“Our law enforcement personnel and fire department personnel will not be able to reach you,” Sharief warns. “When wind speedsreach 45mph our vehicles will no longer be able to respond to 911 calls.”“Our law enforcement personnel and fire department personnel will not be able to reach you,” Sharief warns. “When wind speedsreach 45mph our vehicles will no longer be able to respond to 911 calls.”
Meanwhile, Miami has emptied out of nearly everyone save the journalists there to cover Irma.Meanwhile, Miami has emptied out of nearly everyone save the journalists there to cover Irma.
Miami is a ghost town. #hurricanirma pic.twitter.com/6T3z5k8z0lMiami is a ghost town. #hurricanirma pic.twitter.com/6T3z5k8z0l
9.13pm BST9.13pm BST
21:1321:13
Broward county mayor Barbara Sharief is giving a briefing in south Florida, with a message for nearly the entire state to get garbage bins and other objects out of the streets.Broward county mayor Barbara Sharief is giving a briefing in south Florida, with a message for nearly the entire state to get garbage bins and other objects out of the streets.
“Bulk pickup has stopped and they will become projectiles in the storm,” she warns. “Power outages from high wind and flooding are anticipated.”“Bulk pickup has stopped and they will become projectiles in the storm,” she warns. “Power outages from high wind and flooding are anticipated.”
There are nearly 9,000 people in Broward County’s shelters alone, she says, and the county is opening more shelters this evening. Fort Lauderdale airport ceases service on Friday night, and will stay closed through the weekend. People who live in mobile homes have been urged to head to shelters, given that their homes are particularly vulnerable to winds and floods. In other parts of the state, mandatory evacuations have spread.There are nearly 9,000 people in Broward County’s shelters alone, she says, and the county is opening more shelters this evening. Fort Lauderdale airport ceases service on Friday night, and will stay closed through the weekend. People who live in mobile homes have been urged to head to shelters, given that their homes are particularly vulnerable to winds and floods. In other parts of the state, mandatory evacuations have spread.
Those under #HurricaneIrma watch or warning, you have about 3 daylight hours to finish up shutters. Tomorrow too windy most of day #SayfieThose under #HurricaneIrma watch or warning, you have about 3 daylight hours to finish up shutters. Tomorrow too windy most of day #Sayfie
Beginning at 5 pm today, there is a mandatory evacuation for the beachside, low-lying areas & people in RVs, mobile and manufactured homes.Beginning at 5 pm today, there is a mandatory evacuation for the beachside, low-lying areas & people in RVs, mobile and manufactured homes.
8.56pm BST8.56pm BST
20:5620:56
Rupert Jones, the former attorney general of the British territory of Anguila, has criticzed the British government’s response to hurricane Irma, saying it is not nearly enough and lacks perspective for the enormity of the disaster.Rupert Jones, the former attorney general of the British territory of Anguila, has criticzed the British government’s response to hurricane Irma, saying it is not nearly enough and lacks perspective for the enormity of the disaster.
“It is a ridiculous idea that the £32 million pledged by the Uk Govt to its three overseas territories (Anguilla, BVI and Turks & Caicos) for which it is responsible is fair or just,” Jones told the Guardian. “It is a PR drop in the Caribbean ocean for islands subject to devastation and inhabited by its own citizens. To put it in perspective it wasted £285 million on an unusable airport for St Helena, one of its territories in the Atlantic.”“It is a ridiculous idea that the £32 million pledged by the Uk Govt to its three overseas territories (Anguilla, BVI and Turks & Caicos) for which it is responsible is fair or just,” Jones told the Guardian. “It is a PR drop in the Caribbean ocean for islands subject to devastation and inhabited by its own citizens. To put it in perspective it wasted £285 million on an unusable airport for St Helena, one of its territories in the Atlantic.”
Jones’ criticisms echo those of others in the Caribbean and in Britain. The UK has sent a naval vessel, personnel, supplies and helicopters to its territories in the region, and French, American, and Dutch military and relief crews are coordinating with the recovery.Jones’ criticisms echo those of others in the Caribbean and in Britain. The UK has sent a naval vessel, personnel, supplies and helicopters to its territories in the region, and French, American, and Dutch military and relief crews are coordinating with the recovery.
8.44pm BST8.44pm BST
20:4420:44
Orlando’s sprawling theme parks are closing ahead of hurricane Irma, their parent corporations announced on Friday.Orlando’s sprawling theme parks are closing ahead of hurricane Irma, their parent corporations announced on Friday.
Officials at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando said their parks would close on Saturday and remain quiet through Monday at least, though they hope to reopen on Tuesday. SeaWorld and Tampa’s Busch Gardens announced similar plans to close Saturday afternoon or evening and reopen on Tuesday.Officials at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando said their parks would close on Saturday and remain quiet through Monday at least, though they hope to reopen on Tuesday. SeaWorld and Tampa’s Busch Gardens announced similar plans to close Saturday afternoon or evening and reopen on Tuesday.
Disney World has only closed a handful of times in its existence, including last year, when hurricane Matthew raked past the south-east coast of the peninsula.Disney World has only closed a handful of times in its existence, including last year, when hurricane Matthew raked past the south-east coast of the peninsula.
"The spires of Cinderella's Castle at Disney's Magic Kingdom are being removed in preparation for Hurricane Irma, … https://t.co/cv3VsWKApl pic.twitter.com/1BsQib1pLt"The spires of Cinderella's Castle at Disney's Magic Kingdom are being removed in preparation for Hurricane Irma, … https://t.co/cv3VsWKApl pic.twitter.com/1BsQib1pLt
8.32pm BST8.32pm BST
20:3220:32
Vanessa Thompson, a teacher on the British territory of Anguilla, has recorded video of the island’s only secondary school. The buildings are in partial ruins, with roofs lifted onto the streets, walls shorn from classrooms, and debris scattered everywhere.Vanessa Thompson, a teacher on the British territory of Anguilla, has recorded video of the island’s only secondary school. The buildings are in partial ruins, with roofs lifted onto the streets, walls shorn from classrooms, and debris scattered everywhere.
8.26pm BST8.26pm BST
20:2620:26
Donald Trump’s parting remarks on hurricane Irma, which is approximately 380 miles south south-west of the US mainland.Donald Trump’s parting remarks on hurricane Irma, which is approximately 380 miles south south-west of the US mainland.
.@POTUS comments on Irma leaving the White House this afternoon --> pic.twitter.com/YPRRVNwKSx.@POTUS comments on Irma leaving the White House this afternoon --> pic.twitter.com/YPRRVNwKSx
8.10pm BST
20:10
The National Hurricane Center has updated its forecast to take into account the latest from the NWS, predicting 10-15in of rain in south-east Florida through Tuesday night.
Eastern Florida and coastal Georgia should expect anywhere from eight to 16in, the agency said, with flash floods and mudslides possible. Like state authorities, the agency warned that storm surges should not be underestimated. In south-west Florida, waves could move six to 12ft above ground at high tide.
Reuters meanwhile has reported updates on fatalities and injuries from the Caribbean islands that have already suffered the hurricane. The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency reported four deaths on the British Virgin Islands, but local authorities have not corroborated that figure.
There were 21 deaths confirmed by various government officials around the region. French interior minister Gerard Collomb has said nine people were killed in St Barthelemey and French St Martin, and that seven people remain missing and 112 injured.
Dutch authorities on neighboring St Maarten have reported two dead and 43 wounded.
Four people were killed on the US Virgin Islands, according to a government spokesperson; three died on Puerto Rico; one person was killed on the tiny island of Barbuda; one in the British territory of Anguilla; and one person in Barbados.
If you’re directed to evacuate due to #Irma and need a safe place to go, you can find a list of shelters in our app: https://t.co/WZ95DuyXbf pic.twitter.com/Br6CQhARRA
7.37pm BST
19:37
On Barbuda, tragedy has colored the hurried, now mandatory evacuation from the tiny island, where category four hurricane Jose is approaching. The AP reports:
Stevet Jeremiah lost her 2-year-old son, her house and all her belongings when Hurricane Irma slammed into the tiny island of Barbuda. Now she is leaving the island for good.
Jeremiah said her mother and other son had been sent to Antigua and she and her husband were going to follow. She said she has “nothing, not even an ID to say my name.”
When it was still a category five storm, the hurricane ripped the roof off her house and filled it with water. Jeremiah said there was “so much water beating past us, we had to crawl to get to safety.” Her son was swept away in floodwaters.
In Antigua, she planned to look for her surviving son and her mother, and start making arrangements for the two-year-old’s funeral.
She said she has experienced hurricanes before, but “never anything like this in my life ... and I don’t ever, ever, ever want to see something like this again.”
Officials in Antigua have launched a national campaign to open their homes to hurricane victims from Barbuda.
7.13pm BST
19:13
“Gouging will not be tolerated, period,” Bossert says, again echoing Florida governor Rick Scott in response to a question about predatory business practices.
He also says that he’s concerned about potential overflow from Lake Okeechobee, the large inland lake in south Florida. Scott said that engineers are regularly inspecting the lake’s dike and they believe that it is not at risk for breaking.
Nevertheless, Scott has ordered mandatory evacuations for cities around the lake.
2pm Friday: FLASH FLOOD WATCH for areas near Lake Okeechobee. Mandatory evacuations are in effect! #FLwx pic.twitter.com/G0YsBb36nE
7.06pm BST
19:06
Bossert says he’s worried about the financial resources for disaster relief.
Fema is already coping with recovery from devastating floods in Houston, after hurricane Harvey, and agencies around the country are strained, especially with western wildfires. Bossert says the president, Donald Trump, will sign approval for relief funds as soon as Congress brings such a measure to his desk.
12Z GFS in good agreement with NHC forecast track of Irma. Extremely dangerous setup for the Florida Peninsula. pic.twitter.com/ikdpRVYiWt
7.01pm BST
19:01
White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert is speaking to reporters about the US preparation for hurricane Irma.
Fuel is particularly important, he says, echoing Florida governor Rick Scott. Foreign ships have been allowed to bring fuel to Florida, he says, to provide residents with the fuel to evacuate before the storm, for power during and after the storm, and for vehicles during the recovery.
“At some point people are going to be on their own, so to speak, for a period of time when the flooding, the wind and the rain bear down on them,” he says. They should have enough supplies for at least a 72 hour period.
Bossert warns against “hurricane amnesia”: forgetting how people lose power, communications, and mobility during and after a storm.
Federal agencies are preparing for last minute variables of the storm. Bossert notes that the north-east section of the storm is the most dangerous, meaning a turn west and then north could be especially destructive to the state, with that quadrant of winds crossing across the state. On the other hand, should the eyewall cross onto land the storm will lose speed, Bossert notes.
The storm, he says, “has taken lives already. It’s going to take more, unfortunately, if we’re not prepared.”
Updated
at 7.01pm BST
6.54pm BST
18:54
Nearing the warmer waters of the Bahamas and Cuba, hurricane Irma’s winds have increased to 155mph, according to a 2pm advisory by the National Weather Service.
On Cuba, Reuters reports that life has come to a near total stop.
Schools and most businesses were closed, hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated, and train, bus and domestic air services around the island were canceled. Airports were closing to international flights as conditions warranted. Tourists, and even the dolphins that entertain them, were evacuated. The storm was then predicted to veer north, sparing western Cuba and Havana.
In the Cuban fishing town of Caibarien, residents secured their roofs and moved belongings from low-lying coastal areas to houses higher up inland as the skies clouded over. Most said they were worried but well prepared.
Esteban Reyes, 65, was pushing his bicycle taxi laden with a mattress, iron and DVD player. “We are used to storms but I’m still a bit scared. But the government has taught us to be prepared and help one another,” he said.
In the Bahamas, the government evacuated most people from the southern islands before the storm hit, with some 1,200 people airlifted to the capital, Nassau.
Life-threatening wind & storm surge impacts expected in the #FLKeys, especially the Middle & Upper Keys, Sat. night & Sunday. #Irma #FLwx pic.twitter.com/ezckf9Ce86
6.35pm BST
18:35
The UN’s special representative for disaster risk reduction, Robert Glasser, has joined the chorus of voices linking the extraordinary frequency and force of weather events – huge hurricanes, wildfires across the American west, flooding in Nigeria and India – to the exacerbating effect of climate change.
“There can be little doubt that 2017 is turning into a year of historic significance,” Glasser said, “in the struggle against climate change and all the other risks that put human life in danger and threaten the peace and security of exposed and vulnerable communities around the world who find themselves in harm’s way from hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.”
We must realise that these disaster events are not natural phenomena but are a result of a built environment which is not fit for purpose and a failure to understand how we are intensifying the cocktail of disaster risk by not adequately addressing poverty, land use, building codes, environmental degradation, population growth in exposed in vulnerable settings and, most fundamentally, greenhouse gas emissions.
The floods and monsoon rains across South Asia, deadly landslides and drought in Africa, the impact of four major Atlantic hurricanes, a major earthquake in Mexico with a tsunami threat to central America vividly demonstrate that we need to redouble our efforts to reduce the impact of such events in the future. They are a reminder to us all that the worst disasters which could happen have not happened yet.
“If we do not succeed in understanding what it takes to make our societies more resilient to disasters then we will pay an increasingly high price in terms of lost lives and livelihoods.”
6.31pm BST
18:31
Residents of Barbuda, where the prime minister estimated 90% of the buildings were damaged or destroyed, recall surviving hurricane Irma’s 170mph winds and huge storm surges.
6.06pm BST
18:06
Florida governor Rick Scott is holding another briefing for the public, exhorting people to move now if they haven’t already.
“If you’re in an evacuation zone, leave. it’s as simple as that,” he says. He suggests people to county shelters or friends’ homes away from the coasts, rather than join the mass exodus on northbound. “Don’t wait. If you’re going to leave, leave. If you’ know what’s going to happen, do it now. The mistake is when people wait.”
Scott also condemns price gouging by airliners and other services, saying that the practice will not be forgotten in the aftermath of the storm.
“It’s disgusting if anybody price gouges,” he says. “We have an attorney general that will prosecute people for price gouging. This is the time to help our neighbors, this is not the time to take advantage of our neighbors.”
5.22pm BST
17:22
What we know so far
Hurricane Irma is barrelling toward the southern Bahamas on a course toward southern Florida, with extremely dangerous winds of 150mph (250kph). The storm’s eye doubled in size overnight, and the hurricane’s width is larger than the state of Florida.
More than 20 people were confirmed killed around the Caribbean so far. The dead include nine on French St Martin and St Barts, four in the US Virgin Islands, three on Puerto Rico, two on Dutch St Maarten, one in Barbuda, and one in Anguilla. Four deaths were reported on the British Virgin Islands but they have not been corroborated.
Florida braced for what may be its worst storm in living memory, with a state-wide hurricane warning. “This is a catastrophic storm our state has never seen,” said governor Rick Scott. “We can rebuild your home, we cannot rebuild your life.”
Officials feared storm surges of three to 10ft and ordered more than a million people to evacuate from coastal areas of south Florida and Georgia. Travellers clogged highways northward and the governor suspended tolls and struggled to get fuel to gas stations running out of supplies. The mayor of Miami-Dade, Carlos Gimenez, said the evacuation is the largest in the county’s history.
Shelters opened all around Florida, and officials pleaded that residents in inland areas should plan to have food and water for three days minimum. The governor closed schools and universities around the state to allow for more room. “After the storm passes, we’ll be here to lift everyone up,” Scott said. “We will get through this together.”
The storm is expected to land somewhere on the peninsula late Saturday or on Sunday. Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that Irma could be the most severe hurricane to ever hit the US. “It’s not a question of if Florida’s going to be impacted. It’s a question of how bad Florida’s going to be impacted.”
Cuba is evacuating tourists from coastal resorts and warning residents to move inland, and the British territories of Turks and Caicos suffered nearly directly under the storm’s path.
Hurricane Jose grew to a category four storm east of the Caribbean, with a path toward some of the same islands that have just emerged from Irene’s winds. On the tiny island of Barbuda, where an estimated 90% of buildings were destroyed, authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation to the larger island of Antigua.
American, British, French and Dutch relief forces and military personnel started to move toward or arrive at Caribbean islands hit by the storm.
Updated
at 8.13pm BST