Irma Prep

From the Weather Channel:

"5.6 Million Asked to Evacuate Florida Ahead of Hurricane Irma"

Roughly one-quarter of the nation's third-largest state has either been asked or ordered to evacuate, according to an official. Florida's hurricane program manager, Andrew Sussman, said at least 5.6 million people have been asked to flee the storm, according to the Associated Press. This includes residents ordered to evacuate in South Florida, as well as those who live in substandard housing inland, the report added. The state is home to some 21 million people – many of which have temporarily relocated to Georgia or other neighboring states ahead of Irma's severe impacts.

Here's the Latest

• Scott ordered evacuations in cities surrounding the southern half of Lake Okeechobee from Lake Port to Canal Point in Hendry, Palm Beach and Glades counties. The cities include Belle Glade, Canal Point, Clewiston, Lake Harbor, Moore Haven, Pahokee and South Bay.

• Tampa ordered mandatory evacuations for all residents in Zone A, effective 2 p.m. Friday.

• Mandatory evacuations are underway in Pasco County for all residents living west of U.S. 19, and in Pinellas County, residents in the Level A evacuation zone are also evacuating.

• In Manatee County, evacuations in the Level A evacuation zone are now mandatory.

• In Sarasota County, a mandatory evacuation order was issued Thursday for residents living in Zone A.

• Florida's emergency management officials say nearly 6,000 people are already huddling in shelters across the state.

• All Florida public schools, state colleges and universities will remain closed through Monday. Florida State University announced it will remain closed through Tuesday.

• Scott asked gas stations to stay open as long as possible and said he would arrange for police escorts for employees to get out when needed.

• FEMA Director Brock Long said Friday 8,000 workers were being deployed to Florida.

• Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price declared a public health emergency in Florida Thursday, in addition to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• Scott activated 7,000 members of the Florida National Guard Thursday to help with evacuations, sheltering and the aftermath of the storm.

• Scott has rescinded all weight and driver restrictions on the highways and also suspended all tolls for the duration of the storm’s impacts to Florida so water, food, fuel and emergency supplies can be brought in quickly.

• Scott said Friday school buses will be made available to help cities evacuate.

• Throughout the state, residents are making one last run on water, gas and other essentials ahead of the storm, with shelves quickly emptying. Scott said they are moving fuel into the state to address gas shortages. He urged residents to only take as much fuel as necessary.

• Prison officials in Florida have been forced to conduct the largest evacuation of prisoners in state history, moving more than 7,000 inmates from work camps and community release centers to more secure facilities.

• Scott said he has asked all Florida hotels to waive pet restrictions as thousands flee.

• Walt Disney World in Orlando announced it would close for at least two days beginning Sunday.

• The U.S. Postal Service has suspended deliveries and retail operations in South Florida until further notice.

• Comcast has opened 137,000 Xfinity wifi hotspots across Florida to help people trying to evacuate.

• St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport closed 11 a.m. Friday, airport officials announced.

• Orlando International Airport will shut down 5 p.m. EDT Saturday and Ft. Lauderdale at 7:45 p.m. EDT Saturday.

• Miami International Airport will halt all flights Friday night.

• From Florida to Georgia, some 1.4 million people have been told to leave their homes.

^ Irma is the largest Hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean ever on record and we have seen what it did to lots of Caribbean countries and territories. This seems like it will do a lot of damage to a lot of Florida before it goes to other parts of the US. ^

https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-irma-florida-tampa-miami-preparations-evacuations