Hurricane Irma Latest News, Path and Track Update: Strength Intensifies to Category 5; Florida Advised to Prepare
Hurricane Irma intensifies to category 5 as it landed on areas in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, the United States weather agency has advised people in Florida to take safety measures as well.
In the National Hurricane Center's 28th public advisory posted on Tuesday at 11 p.m. EDT, Irma was determined to be a "potentially catastrophic category 5 hurricane."
The warning was repeated in NHC's 29th public advisory that was issued at 5 a.m. EDT, Wednesday.
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According to the weather agency's Saffir-Simpson scale, a category 5 hurricane is characterized with sustained winds of 157 miles per hour or higher.
Hurricanes with this intensity can destruct "framed homes" and cause severe damage to houses' roofs and walls. People in residential areas might see falling trees and collapsing electric poles. The havoc caused by this type of hurricane can also cause weeks-long power outages.
The said warnings were echoed in NHC's public advisory no. 29 that was posted on Twitter that said people in some areas of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico will experience "life-threatening wind, storm surge, and rainfall hazards."
As Irma ravages the said areas, hurricane warnings were put up for the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, southeastern Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos, while hurricane watches were confirmed for some parts of Haiti as well as the central Bahamas. These locations are expected to experience "dangerous" winds and storm surges as well as heavy rainfall from Wednesday night until Friday.
Meanwhile, Irma will affect some parts of the Bahamas and Cuba and will retain its strength as a "dangerous major hurricane" before the week ends.
As for people in the United States, the same public advisory confirmed that the "chance of direct impacts" such as winds, storm surges, and rainfall "continues to increase" for those who are in the Florida Keys as well as in some areas of the Florida Peninsula.
However, NHC clarified that it was still early to specify whether Irma will sustain, intensify or weaken by the time it makes its landfall in Florida. But people in these areas are still advised to remain vigilant and stay tuned for the agency's latest updates.
On the other hand, learning from the country's very recent experiences from Hurricane Harvey, the people of Florida have started preparing for the incoming onslaught of Irma. They have begun purchasing packs of bottled waters and other food stocks as well as placing bags of sand and sheets of plywood to add protection to their homes.
