It is believed that Hurricane Irma, followed by the winds which reach 270 km/h, will inflict a lot of damage to the state of Florida. The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a warning for south Florida and the nearby archipelago because this storm approaches the coast. According to the newest information, Hurricane Irma is crossing the Bahamas.
The hurricane is also expected to hit the coast of Georgia, Cuba, and Haiti. The governments are evacuating citizens. Meanwhile, meteorologists issued a warning to the larger part of Florida, including the metro area of Miami as well as the Lake Okeechobee. The governor of Florida, Rick Scott ordered all the schools and universities to close, as well as the state services for the weekend.
He said that the residents of Florida are facing with “life-threatening storm” and that “every family must be ready to evacuate.” According to the earlier predictions, on this day around 500,000 people should be evacuated. Irma will be even more devastating than Hurricane Andrew which hit the coast in 1992 and killed 65 people. It cost the state 26.5 billion dollars at that time.
Georgia governor Nathan Deal order the evacuation of people from six counties located on the coast, which means that more than 540,000 people will have to leave their homes. Associated Press reports that Georgia hasn’t been hit by an intense hurricane for more than one century. The US Virgin Islands officials stated that the storm killed three people and caused extensive material damage.
The governor spokesperson said that the authorities continued to clear the blocked roads. Because hurricane Irma, four persons have died so far, whereas more than 50 residents of the Saint Martin island were injured. Several other people lost their lives on the small islands as well. Having caused the extensive amount of damage over the northeast Caribbean, Hurricane Irma moves toward the state of Florida.