After laying waste to the Northern Caribbean and leaving most of bankrupt Puerto Rico without power – perhaps for months – Hurricane Irma, still a category five storm, is expected to make landfall near Miami this weekend. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has already declared a state of emergency, and last night more than 100,000 Miami-Dade residents in Miami Beach and low-lying mainland areas were instructed to leave their homes by Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who issued his first evacuation order.
Now, FEMA Chief Brock Long says that the storm will have a “truly devastating” impact when it slams into southern coastal areas of the US, adding that people in Florida and other states must heed evacuation orders after the storm killed more than 10 people in the Caribbean.
The FEMA chief said Irma would be only the fourth Category Five hurricane to hit the United States since 19851, conjuring memories of Hurricane Andrew, which demolished parts of Florida in 1992.
“Bottom line is the majority of people along the coast have never experienced a major hurricane like this. It will be truly devastating,” he told CNN.
While mandatory evacuation orders have so far only been issued in parts of Florida, Brock expects similar orders to be issued for Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina within the next 48 hours, Long said: “The entire southeastern United States better wake up and pay attention,” he added.
The mayor of Miami Beach Philip Levine also warned that Irma could have an impact of “nuclear” proportions, though it was unclear if he was referring to the two nuclear power plants that lie directly in the path of the hurricane.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
