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Hurricane Irma: 'Life threatening storm surge expected in the Florida Keys' – latest updates Hurricane Irma: 'Life threatening storm surge expected in the Florida Keys' – latest updates
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The National Hurricane Center says Irma’s projected path is continuing to shift to the west, just by a few crucial miles, which should keep its eye just off Florida’s west coast on a track to hit St Petersburg, not Miami or Tampa.
The hurricane’s leading edge was already lashing the Florida Keys with hurricane force winds. If the centre of the storm keeps moving over warm Gulf of Mexico water, it may regain more strength before making landfall again.
St Petersburg, like Tampa, has not taken a head-on blow from a major hurricane in nearly a century. Clearwater would be next, and then the storm would finally go inland northwest of Ocala.
The storm currently has top sustained winds of 120mph (193kmh) and is moving northward at about 6mph (10kph).
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I am in disbelief right now... This is Long Island, Bahamas and the ocean water is missing!!! That's as far as they see #HurricaneIrma wtf pic.twitter.com/AhPAonjO6s
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.@kentuckyguard Airmen evacuate hundreds from Virgin Islands following Hurricane Irma https://t.co/kP6s3S18lX pic.twitter.com/GD8z98lY28
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Some very practical advice from a Florida sheriff.Some very practical advice from a Florida sheriff.
To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma. You won't make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effectshttps://t.co/CV4Y9OJknvTo clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma. You won't make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effectshttps://t.co/CV4Y9OJknv
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Irma is expected to rip through Florida’s southern archipelago on Sunday morning as a Category 4 storm, the second-highest designation on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Wind gusts near hurricane force began to batter the Florida Keys late on Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said.Irma is expected to rip through Florida’s southern archipelago on Sunday morning as a Category 4 storm, the second-highest designation on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Wind gusts near hurricane force began to batter the Florida Keys late on Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said.
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Amid urgent warnings from state officials to evacuate before it was too late, downtown Miami was all but abandoned on Saturday. Sheets of rain swept through the deserted city of 400,000 people, forming large puddles in empty streets that are usually filled with tour buses and taxis.Amid urgent warnings from state officials to evacuate before it was too late, downtown Miami was all but abandoned on Saturday. Sheets of rain swept through the deserted city of 400,000 people, forming large puddles in empty streets that are usually filled with tour buses and taxis.
The wind sent a construction crane spinning on the roof of the Miami Worldcenter, a billion dollar project near the home of the Miami Heat basketball team and the city’s performing arts centre.The wind sent a construction crane spinning on the roof of the Miami Worldcenter, a billion dollar project near the home of the Miami Heat basketball team and the city’s performing arts centre.
On Florida’s west coast, resident Charley Ball said he expected a storm surge to completely engulf the island of Sanibel where he lives.On Florida’s west coast, resident Charley Ball said he expected a storm surge to completely engulf the island of Sanibel where he lives.
“Just left the island and said goodbye to everything I own,” said Ball, 62.“Just left the island and said goodbye to everything I own,” said Ball, 62.
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From the State Department: As Hurricane Irma moves through the Caribbean, President Trump has issued emergency declarations for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Puerto Rico. A major disaster declaration has also been issued for the US Virgin Islands. A hurricane warning is in effect for central and southern Florida and the Florida Keys.
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The window for people in evacuation zones to flee was drawing to a close on Saturday, officials said, warning that gas stations would soon be without fuel and bridges would be closed in some areas.
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Officials in Florida have ordered a total of 6.3 million people, or about a third of the state’s population, to evacuate, creating massive traffic jams on highways and overcrowding shelters.
In Palm Beach, President Donald Trump’s waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate was under evacuation order.
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In Cuba, the destruction along the north central coast was similar to that suffered by other Caribbean islands over the last week as Irma plowed into Ciego de Avila province.
Cubans walked through ankle-deep water in Caibarien, a fishing town where streets were flooded and covered in seaweed. Elsewhere, winds toppled trees and utility polls or ripped apart roofs.
It was the first time the eye of a Category 5 storm had made landfall in Cuba since 1932, state media said, and the island’s Communist government ordered the evacuation of more than a million people from its path.
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There is an update on the power supply situation. A total of 9 million people in Florida may lose power, some for weeks, according to the Florida Power & Light Co.
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Catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide said Irma could cause insurance losses of between $15 billion and $50 billion in the United States.
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Life threatening storm surge
The National Hurricane Center has issued an alert saying: Life threatening storm surge expected in the Florida Keys and the west coast of Florida.
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Some of those who have fled Florida are very pessimistic about what they will be returning to once Hurricane Irma subsides. Tom Durr, a 66-year-old retired physician and his wife, Lorraine, fled their house in Englewood, between Fort Myers and Sarasota near where the eye of the hurricane is forecast to makes landfall.
The left for a small farm they own in North Carolina on Tuesday, but Durr told Reuters he does not expect much to be left when they return.
“It will be a nice waterfront lot in sunny Florida with no house, no trees, no cars, no boats and an amazing view of devastation as far as you can see,” he said.
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The US National Weather Service says the first hurricane-force wind gust has been recorded in the Florida Keys as Irma inches closer to the state.
The weather service says the Smith Shoal Light station recorded a 74mph (119kmh) wind gust on Saturday night.
The centre of Irma is headed toward the Keys and has sustained winds of 120mph (193.11kmh).
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Florida Governor Rick Scott says at least 76,000 people are without power as Irma unleashes winds and rain on the state.
Scott said on Saturday night that the number of outages is expected to grow as Irma moves closer to the state.
He warned people the storm is life-threatening.