Florida is hosting a devastating Hurricane Irma today, which has caused at least 25 deaths as it passes through the Caribbean, after several days of preparations in which its change in trajectory seems to have sparked Miami from its most devastating force, which will focus on the west coast of the state.
Hours before the arrival of the hurricane, which is advancing with winds of about 200 kilometers per hour and heavy rains, and tens of thousands of people were left without electricity in the south of the state due to the effects of the outer bands of the cyclone.
Authorities, who have not taken any notice of the cyclone’s devastating force, have ordered the evacuation of more than five million people from the most vulnerable areas, especially on the coast of the state, where rising tides are expected to rise. will cause Irma to be up to five meters in some areas.
That, coupled with the heavy rains that accompany the hurricane, will cause severe flooding in some areas of the coast.
But for days the northbound and neighboring states have been crowded to avoid hurricane strikes, with thousands of people leaving Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, the most populous, since forecasts pointed to that would be the main objective of Irma.
Those who decided to stay despite warnings from the authorities spent days propping up trees, tapping wooden windows and putting sacks of dirt on doors and garages to protect them from wind and water.
There are also innumerable businesses that sheltered their windows with wooden planks to protect them, which, together with the curfew of twelve hours decreed by the authorities and the massive exodus of its inhabitants left Miami and its metropolitan area with a strange aspect of city ghost.
Thousands of people have sought protection in the dozens of shelters opened by the authorities to protect those who live in risky areas and have not been able to leave and on the west coast of the state have long queues of families have been seen to access them since announced that it will be the zone of greater danger.
The center of the storm is now expected to hit the Keys in the far south to continue to Naples, Fort Mayers and Tampa Bay on the west coast of the state, where the change of trajectory has surprised many and made evacuation and other preparations difficult.
But the enormous size of Irma does not guarantee security to anyone in the whole width of the state, who has been in a situation of maximum alert for days before the danger of hurricane winds and heavy rains that accompany the meteorological phenomenon.
“Once the storm starts, law enforcement will not be able to save them,” state governor Rick Scott warned on Saturday in a press conference that in recent days has not tired of warning of the unusual destructive force of the hurricane.
Already on Saturday Irma unleashed heavy tornadoes in South Florida while her eye was still off the coast of Cuba and although it had lost force in its advance, without it being known if it has caused considerable damages.
However, experts at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predict a strengthening of Irma as it moves away from Cuba and as it approaches Florida, where it will arrive as a destructive hurricane that can cause floods, floods and landslides.
The NHC has also warned that it is possible that new tornadoes will occur during the day, which could be extended to the center of the state.
The hurricane winds cover an area of ​​about 110 kilometers from the scepter of the cyclone and its tropical storm force extends to a radius of about 335 kilometers away.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the country was prepared to stand up to Irma, although he acknowledged that it is a cyclone with “enormous destructive power” as “never” has been seen.
“It looks like Irma’s going to be a really bad one, really bad. But we’re prepared, we’re as ready as we can be for something like that, I can say that,” Trump said. EFE
