The eye of Hurricane Irma, which was packing winds of 130 miles
per hour, hit the Florida Keys on Sunday morning after leaving a
path of destruction across the Caribbean.
per hour, hit the Florida Keys on Sunday morning after leaving a
path of destruction across the Caribbean.
The center of the Category 4 storm struck the Lower Keys about 9 a.m. Eastern, the National Hurricane Center said. The eye was moving over
Big Pine, Cudjoe and Summerland Keys, the center said.
Big Pine, Cudjoe and Summerland Keys, the center said.
The storm was expected to rake the state’s west coast — a change from earlier predictions that left some residents and officials scrambling to
find shelter. The new track could expose St. Petersburg — rather than Miami or Tampa — to a direct hit.
find shelter. The new track could expose St. Petersburg — rather than Miami or Tampa — to a direct hit.
St. Petersburg, like Tampa, has not taken a head-on blow from a major hurricane in nearly a century, according to The Associated Press.
The National Hurricane Center upgraded Irma to a Category 4 hurricane
at 2 a.m., saying it would cross the Lower Florida Keys during the following several hours. The storm was then expected to move up
the state’s west coast, before heading inland over the Panhandle and
into Georgia on Monday afternoon.
at 2 a.m., saying it would cross the Lower Florida Keys during the following several hours. The storm was then expected to move up
the state’s west coast, before heading inland over the Panhandle and
into Georgia on Monday afternoon.
Here’s the latest:
• More than 300,000 people in Florida were without power Sunday morning. Keys Energy Services, which supplies electricity to Key West
and the Lower Florida Keys, said that all of its 29,000 customers were without power.
and the Lower Florida Keys, said that all of its 29,000 customers were without power.
• At least 25 people have been confirmed dead in parts of the Caribbean affected by Irma. The hurricane made landfall in Cuba on Friday evening — the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the island since 1924. President Raúl Castro said there had been serious damage to the country’s power grid.
The newspaper Granma said there had been unprecedented flooding in parts of Havana.
The newspaper Granma said there had been unprecedented flooding in parts of Havana.
• Florida officials have ordered more than 6.5 million residents to leave their homes, one of the largest emergency evacuations in American history. About 540,000 people were told to leave the Georgia coast. Alabama,
North Carolina and South Carolina have declared states of emergency.
Here are our maps tracking the storm.
North Carolina and South Carolina have declared states of emergency.
Here are our maps tracking the storm.
• Gov. Rick Scott warned on Saturday night that the state could get as
much as 18 inches of rain, with the Keys getting up to 25 inches.
Southwest Florida could see a storm surge of 15 feet above ground level, and entire neighborhoods stretching northward from Naples to Tampa Bay could be submerged.
much as 18 inches of rain, with the Keys getting up to 25 inches.
Southwest Florida could see a storm surge of 15 feet above ground level, and entire neighborhoods stretching northward from Naples to Tampa Bay could be submerged.
• Separately, Hurricane Jose, a Category 4 storm, was passing farther north of the Leeward Islands than initially predicted.
• Sign up for the Morning Briefing for hurricane news and for a look at what you need to know to begin your day.
The storm hits Florida.
As Irma’s eye began moving across the Florida Keys, the storm gathered intensity in Miami, tearing signs from their foundations, downing power lines, ripping trees from their roots and whipping the huge cranes that dot the Miami skyline around in precarious circles.
Water from Biscayne Bay was already flooding into the street in Brickell and central Miami, making roads impassable. Rivers and lakes were overflowing — and that was before the full force of the storm hit.
Most buildings and houses were shrouded in darkness, streetlights were out, and police officers and National Guard troops were hunkered down like everyone else.
With the power out for hundreds of thousands of people across southern Florida, there was no television to keep them updated and only the power left on their phones to keep them in touch with the world.
Are building cranes supposed to rotate during Hurricane Irma? @NWSNHC @CityofMiami @CityofMiamiFire. Edgwater, Miami.
The storm was expected to batter the city for hours, and many people who had evacuated to hotels and other places of safety found themselves without air-conditioning but with windows shut tight, an atmosphere that quickly became claustrophobic.
Many in Miami expressed relief on Saturday as the path of the storm veered toward the west coast. But as they awoke to the sounds of snapping trees and exploding transformers, the mood shifted.
People rechecked their supplies.
“I told my daughter, Emily, Now it gets real,” said Angel Quirindongo,
31. “I told her, ‘Now one piece of bread, later a piece of bread, and save what you really want.’ ”
31. “I told her, ‘Now one piece of bread, later a piece of bread, and save what you really want.’ ”
Although Mr. Quirindongo lives in the city, he was riding out the storm
at the Element Hotel, near Miami International Airport, where he works
for American Airlines. He was 10 years old when Hurricane Andrew hit,
and he said he remembered going weeks without power. It was not a pleasant experience, he added.
at the Element Hotel, near Miami International Airport, where he works
for American Airlines. He was 10 years old when Hurricane Andrew hit,
and he said he remembered going weeks without power. It was not a pleasant experience, he added.
“This one doesn’t know,” he said, motioning to Emily, his 13-year-old daughter.
By 7:15 a.m., the hotel had barricaded the doors with sandbags, and nobody was allowed in or out. Emergency lights flashed and the
generator was being used only to power a limited number of lights in
the lobby.
generator was being used only to power a limited number of lights in
the lobby.
People emerged from their crowded rooms bleary-eyed, children and
pets by their side, and they snacked on fruit and coffee provided by the hotel while wind and rain pounded the windows. The palm trees outside bent to breaking point, and frequent lightning strikes lit up the sky.
pets by their side, and they snacked on fruit and coffee provided by the hotel while wind and rain pounded the windows. The palm trees outside bent to breaking point, and frequent lightning strikes lit up the sky.
While her father was calm and collected, Emily said she had never
been through a major hurricane. “It’s really scary,” she said.
been through a major hurricane. “It’s really scary,” she said.
Her father reminded her that the day was just beginning. “It is going
to get a lot worse before it gets better,” he said.
to get a lot worse before it gets better,” he said.
Residents and officials scramble to find shelter.
Hurricane Irma’s sudden drive to the west prompted last-minute orders
for evacuation in Collier and Lee Counties in Florida, leaving little time
for residents to pack up and find shelter.
for evacuation in Collier and Lee Counties in Florida, leaving little time
for residents to pack up and find shelter.
“We thought we were safe,” said a spokeswoman for Collier County who declined to give her name because she was not authorized to discuss the situation. “We thought we were safe like 36 hours ago.”
The spokeswoman said that a forecast at 5 p.m. on Thursday caused
county officials to react, getting shelters ready and helping residents seeking to evacuate.
county officials to react, getting shelters ready and helping residents seeking to evacuate.
At 6 a.m., Collier County declared a civil emergency and ordered all residents to shelter in place until the storm passed. All emergency
vehicles were pulled off the roads an hour later.
vehicles were pulled off the roads an hour later.
In Lee County, three of 14 shelters remained open, including one at an elementary school in Lehigh Acres, well east and inland of Ft. Myers.
But the large shelter at Germain Arena in Estero, which opened less
than 24 hours before, was full.
But the large shelter at Germain Arena in Estero, which opened less
than 24 hours before, was full.
Germain Arena with evacuees from Fort Myers waiting out #IrmaHurricane2017
Photo from my uncle who just got there
In Miami-Dade County, some people who had flocked to shelters
were reassessing their situation on Saturday afternoon after learning
that the brunt of the hurricane would most likely be felt farther west.
were reassessing their situation on Saturday afternoon after learning
that the brunt of the hurricane would most likely be felt farther west.
“We’re going home,” Virginia Lopez, an administrative assistant at
Barry University, said as she loaded her 5-year-old poodle mix, Princess, into her Mazda outside a shelter at Highland Oaks Middle School after spending the night there with her daughter and son-in-law.
Barry University, said as she loaded her 5-year-old poodle mix, Princess, into her Mazda outside a shelter at Highland Oaks Middle School after spending the night there with her daughter and son-in-law.
“We decided half an hour ago. The storm has moved to Tampa, so we’re going to get a lot of rain but it won’t be as bad. I don’t feel so scared.”
On Miami Beach, Karen Asher-Howard, who stayed in her beachfront high rise, said her husband and their 17-year-old daughter were still fast asleep Sunday morning.
So far, she said the storm had been “uneventful.”
“We have been very safe and very lucky so far,” she said. “We know the worst may still come.”
The Keys brace for a direct strike.
In the Florida Keys, emergency officials girded for a direct hit and residents who did not evacuate began to take cover as the winds kicked up sharply Saturday afternoon.
The Keys, a thin chain of low-lying islands, are especially vulnerable to Hurricane Irma’s anticipated powerful tidal surges.
The ocean is expected to rise and hurtle into buildings and houses near
the coast. Pine Island, north of Key West, was already seeing rising seas
at noon.
the coast. Pine Island, north of Key West, was already seeing rising seas
at noon.
Some canals were spilling their bounds and emergency responders were evacuating to the Upper Keys.
But the worst could come after the hurricane moves on. Keys residents could find themselves isolated from the mainland if any of the 42 bridges gets damaged.
Residents and emergency officials would be cut off from food, gas and other supplies because there would be no easy way of reaching them by road.
“Just think about the Keys for a second,” Mr. Scott warned residents at a recent news conference. “If we lose one bridge, everything south of the bridge, everybody’s going to be stranded. It’s going to take us a while to
get back in there to try to provide services.”
get back in there to try to provide services.”
A hospital hunkers down.
Hurricane Irma has already disrupted Florida’s health systems. As of Saturday night, 29 hospitals, 239 assisted-living centers and 56 other health care facilities in the state were evacuated, according to Jason Mahon, a public information officer at the Florida State Emergency Operations Center. More than 60 shelters were opened for people with special needs.
Not all health organizations made the difficult choice to transfer their patients out of Irma’s path. Tampa General Hospital, the highest-level trauma center in the region, remained open and full of patients and staff, despite being surrounded by water on the tip of Davis Islands.
The hospital is in Zone A, the area most vulnerable to storm surge.
A spokesman for the hospital, John Dunn, said by phone Saturday night that staff members had arrived on Friday to stay through the storm and work in shifts to care for the hospital’s approximately 700 patients.
Mr. Dunn said the hospital had submarine doors to protect against flooding, and generators had been elevated from the ground floor to a higher level. They are capable of powering air-conditioning for parts of
the buildings, he said.
the buildings, he said.
He added that the hospital’s leaders had spoken in the past with local emergency officials and with the Federal Emergency Management Agency about how the hospital might evacuate. “There are not many resources available to be able to evacuate large numbers of patients,” he said.
Cuba assesses the damage.
Irma slammed into Cuba on Friday night as a Category 5 hurricane, causing widespread destruction. Meteorologists were expecting the
storm to tack north earlier, and were not predicting a direct hit.
storm to tack north earlier, and were not predicting a direct hit.
The eye of the storm passed directly through the archipelago of keys on
the northern coast in the central part of the island.
the northern coast in the central part of the island.
The damage to its central provinces was substantial: Power lines were brought down in Camaguey, houses were destroyed in Ciego de Ávila
and fishing towns have been submerged in Villa Clara.
and fishing towns have been submerged in Villa Clara.
A ‘doomsday scene’ on the British Virgin Islands.
With communications limited on the British Virgin Islands, the full scope
of the damage from Hurricane Irma was still revealing itself. On Saturday, at least five deaths were reported by the governor, Gus Jaspert. With communication on the island all but severed, officials were still working
to assess the full scale of devastation.
of the damage from Hurricane Irma was still revealing itself. On Saturday, at least five deaths were reported by the governor, Gus Jaspert. With communication on the island all but severed, officials were still working
to assess the full scale of devastation.
Residents of Tortola, the largest island, said buildings had been leveled
and roads washed away. People have limited food and water.
and roads washed away. People have limited food and water.
The British government said it had sent 20 tons of aid to the affected
areas, including shelter kits and solar lanterns aboard a naval ship.
areas, including shelter kits and solar lanterns aboard a naval ship.
Catherine Clayton, whose family owns a hotel on Tortola in Josiah’s Bay, said 25 people — including neighbors whose homes had been decimated — were sheltered in the two remaining inhabitable rooms at the once eight-room Tamarind Hotel.
“It is like an apocalyptic doomsday scene here,” she said. “No trees, leaves or greenery.”
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