LIVE NOW: Hurricane Irma Already Starts To Batter Miami, Florida, Irma’s Winds Reach Florida Shores

Irma is expected to strengthen as it nears FloridaOfficials are most worried about storm surge flooding

(CNN)Hurricane Irma's winds and outer rain bands lashed the Florida Keys on Saturday as the Category 3 storm pushed toward the state amid dire warnings of devastating gales, heavy rain and life-threatening storm surge.
n
With sustained winds at 120 mph, Irma slowly began turning from Cuba's northern coast up into the Florida Strait on Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm is expected to strengthen once it moves away from Cuba, turning north while remaining a powerful hurricane when it reaches Florida.

Irma's eye was due to strike the Florida Keys on Sunday morning before driving up the state's southwestern coast Sunday afternoon, according to the hurricane center. Almost the entire state is under hurricane warning.

The storm is massive as winds of at least tropical storm force covered 70,000 square miles -- larger than Florida's entire land area. Worsening conditions spawned a tornado warning in parts of northeastern Broward County and knocked power for 83,000 residents in South Florida.

As Irma drew closer to the third most populous state, officials warned the 6.5 million Floridians under mandatory evacuation orders that time was running out.

"If you have been ordered to evacuate, you need to leave now. This is your last chance to make a good decision," said Florida Gov. Rick Scott at a news briefing Saturday evening.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long was even more blunt when asked about people who didn't heed evacuation orders in the Keys.

"If you didn't evacuate the Keys, you're on your own until we can actually get in there and it's safe," he told CNN Saturday. "The message has been clear: The Keys are going to be impacted. There is no safe area within the Keys. And you put your life in your own hands by not evacuating."

The National Hurricane Center warned that preparations had be complete in southwest Florida in a matter of hours as the tropical storm force winds are expected Saturday night.

The major concern among officials was the storm surge, which is like a sustained high tide that can cause devastating flooding, warning that it could reach as high as 15 feet in some areas. A storm surge warning is in place for the Florida Keys, Tampa Bay, and an extensive stretch of coastline wrapping most of the way around the state.

"You can't survive these storm surges," Scott told CNN Saturday evening. "You've got to get out. You've got to evacuate. This storm is coming. Once the storm's here, we can't evacuate anybody."

Track Hurricane Irma's path

Irma hit Cuba's Ciego de Avila province late Friday as a Category 5 hurricane. The storm's violent gusts destroyed the instrument used to measure wind strength, Cuba's meteorological agency reported. Waves as high as 23 feet were recorded, and bigger ones remained a possibility as Irma plodded west, officials said.

Even before hitting Cuba, Irma had proven catastrophic, killing 24 people this week in the Caribbean and leaving entire islands in ruins.

MIAMI — After plowing a path of destruction through the Caribbean and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee in one of the largest evacuations in American history, Hurricane Irma began to maul southern Florida on Saturday and was poised to howl up its west coast Sunday with deadly force and fury.

The time to gather supplies was over, and in most of the region, it was getting too late to run. The Florida Keys faced a potentially catastrophic brew of winds topping 125 miles an hour and a storm surge that threatened to drown whole islands. By Saturday evening, the ocean around Key West was spilling into hotel parking lots and onto roads, while tornadoes rumbled like freight trains through Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

On the Gulf Coast, a late westward turn in the forecast had put Naples, Fort Myers and the heavily populated peninsulas of Tampa Bay directly in Irma’s track. Officials who had earlier expected a lighter blow from the storm spent the day frantically turning schools and other fortified buildings into shelters as fast as evacuees could wedge into them. Shelters opened. They filled. More opened. More filled. Long lines outside were bulging with suitcases, light furniture, pet carri
By Saturday more than six million Floridians had been ordered to leave or

"Obviously Hurricane Irma continues to be a threat that is going to devastate the United Stang enough to uproot trees, bring down power poles and rip off the roofs and some exterior walls of well-built frame homes.
'Florida''| #IRMA, hurricane irma florida, hurricane, cnn live, florida, hurricane irma live, hurricane irma live footage, hurricane irma track, hurricane irma videos, irma, live footage hurricane irma, live now : hurricane irma, weather, hurricane irma, hurricane irma tracking, storm, live


Live: Tracking Hurricane IRMA to SLAM Florida, Orlando, Georgia, East Coast VIDEO UPDATE

Тэги:

#LIVE_NOW:_Hurricane_Irma_Already_Starts_To_Batter_Miami #Florida #Irma’s_Winds_Reach_Florida_Shores ##irma #cnn_live #florida #''florida''|_#irma #hurricane #hurricane_irma #hurricane_irma_florida #hurricane_irma_''florida'' #hurricane_irma_florida_path #hurricane_irma_live #hurricane_irma_live_footage #hurricane_irma_tracking #hurricane_irma_update #hurricane_irma_videos #hurrinace_irma_cuba #irma #live #live_footage_hurricane_irma #live_now_:_hurricane_irma #miami #irma_florida

Скачать видео