A mandatory evacuation order for all tourists in the Florida Keys is in effect now (kicked in at 7AM EDT), and in about 11 hours, the same will be true for residents. As Irma became a Cat V hurricane, and the track has firmed up to put it on a collision course with the southern end of Florida, local officials issued the orders last night.:
“We’re emphatically telling people you must evacuate, you can not afford to stay on an island with a Category 5 hurricane coming at you. Most of this island chain is only three to five feet above sea level. With the surges we’re expecting this is not the place to be.”
“With a Category 5 coming at the Florida Keys we could be looking at wave heights that would literally put the ocean over the islands. We’re got to remember we’re an island community and islands go under water.”And just to make things fun, there's a nuke reactor site or two in the path as well.
Fun times.
For anybody thereabouts, the Ozarks are nice this time of year, and the humidity's no worse than Florida. Once you get north of the GA state line, you can probably find gasoline, too.
We were in the Ozarks just last month. Got to say they were a lot nicer than I was led to believe, at least the northern Arkansas part. I was expecting shacks and banjos but it was just the opposite.
ReplyDeleteThe horse flies though were the size of hummingbirds. Make decent skeet targets.
I'll watch with interest the progress of Irma. Not on a personal level from here in the Driftless but really hope it doesn't go through Florida. We can't afford to recovery costs. The web site https://wattsupwiththat.com is the go to site for all things weather or climate related.
49 wonderful degrees at my house in south central Missouri this morning.
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me how many people THAT LIVE FULL TIME in hurricane/tornado/earthquake areas are so under-prepared and wait til the last minute to do anything at all.
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“With a Category 5 coming at the Florida Keys we could be looking at wave heights that would literally put the ocean over the islands. We’re got to remember we’re an island community and islands go under water.”
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Or, if you're talking to Hank Johnson, just tell him that the islands will tip over.