Hurricane Irma lashes Florida Keys as nearly 500,000 lose power
Hurricane Irma's northern eyewall hit the Florida Keys just after 7
a.m. ET Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said as almost 500,000
lost power across mainland Florida.
The system is expected to
cause life-threatening storm surges of up to 15 feet along parts of
southwestern Florida and on other parts of the coast, forecasters
warned.
Storm surges were beginning to impact Key West just before 4 a.m. ET Sunday, with water levels already two feet above normal.
"Life-threatening
storm surge is occurring now in the Keys and is expected to begin this
morning in Southwest Florida," Florida Gov. Rick Scott tweeted early
Sunday.
The Latest on the Storm
- Irma restrengthened to a Category 4 storm early Sunday as it hit the lower Florida Keys with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph just after 7 a.m. ET.
- It could reach Fort Myers by Sunday night, passing the Tampa Bay area before moving to northern Florida on Monday morning.
- The Florida Keys and the southwest Florida coast are in the most danger of storm surges of around 10 feet.
- The Keys could get between 10 and 20 inches of rain, and the Florida peninsula could get 8 to 15 inches. Tornadoes are possible.
In Miami Beach, streets were already submerged after torrential rain.
A private weather station at Alligator Reef Light, near Key West, reported sustained winds of 64 mph.
Nearly 6.3 million people were ordered to evacuate ahead of the storm. Not everyone heeded the calls.
Brian
Cone, a boat captain in Tavernier in the Florida Keys, said he is
staying at home, which he said is built of cement and which he compared
to "a bunker."
"Truthfully, the whole state of Florida is in
trouble. I mean, there's really nowhere safe," Cone told MSNBC in a
phone interview. He said he and his neighbors have generators,
batteries, food and water and other supplies. "We feel it was more
dangerous to travel all over the state, run out of fuel possibly ...
We're gonna ride it out," Cone said.
The NHC said late Saturday that "heavy squalls with embedded
tornadoes" were sweeping across southern Florida. One touched down near
Fort Lauderdale, the National Weather Service said. The fire department
said there was no damage or injuries.
Key
West Police Chief Donald Lee told MSNBC by phone Saturday that those
who stayed in defiance of evacuation orders do so at their own risk. He
said the area had already seen tornado warnings, downed trees and
flooding by Saturday evening, and the storm could be devastating.
"They're putting their lives in danger," Lee said.
In
Miami-Dade County in the southeastern part of the state, police
encouraged residents to stay indoors as the storm was hitting early
Sunday.
"There’s a lot of trees that are being knocked over, we
have live wires — it’s extremely volatile out there,” Miami-Dade Police
Department Major Hector Llevat said. "Right now, we’re just urging
everybody to stay indoors, to seek shelter."
Scott cautioned that
the storm will cause "life-threatening" surges as high as 15 feet in
southwest Florida. "This will cover your house," Scott said, adding,
"You will not survive all this storm surge."
The hurricane center
warned of a storm surge of up to 10 to 15 feet between Cape Sable and
Captiva if they peak at high tide, and storm surge of up to 5 to 10 feet
in the Keys. Tampa Bay could see surges of up to 5 to 8 feet.
Gov.
Scott said Florida has been "aggressive" in its preparation for Irma,
adding that there were more than 385 shelters open across the path of
the storm.
Meanwhile, north of Florida, states were also preparing
for Irma's arrival. In Georgia, 540,000 residents were told to leave
the coast, while in South Carolina, nearly 45,000 people were ordered to
evacuate.
Hurricane Irma has already claimed at least 23 lives after
smashing through a string of Caribbean islands this week, including
Barbuda, St. Martin, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where 1
million people were left without electricity.
Kalhan
Rosenblatt reported from Plantation, Florida, Phil McCausland reported
from New York, and Saphora Smith reported from London.
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