Hurricane Irma Evacuations Latest Update, Details: Florida Officials Advice Residents To Act Fast When Ordered To Evacuate
Florida Governor Rick Scott issued an advice to the state's residents regarding the possible forced mass evacuation order before the powerful Hurricane Irma arrives in mainland United States.
Based on the projected path of the Category 5 storm that is currently plowing through the Caribbean, Irma might possibly pass by the eastern coast of Florida where a lot of people are residing by Friday night to early Saturday.
According to reports, this could possibly create one of the biggest mass evacuations in US history since the counties of Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward has a combined population of 6 million people.
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This prompted Gov. Scott to advise the state's residents to evacuate immediately once the order has been issued. "Evacuation orders are going to be given in a timely manner so people have time to evacuate," Scott said in a statement that was posted by CNN. "But if you wait, that's when the problems are going to happen."
Florida Senator Bill Nelson also warned about the potential traffic that can be caused by the mass evacuation since the state only depends on two main highways.
"If this monster comes right up the peninsula of Florida, you're gonna have a mass out-migration from the south to the north, and it's gonna clog the roads something tremendously," the senator stated. "Therefore, if you are going to evacuate, once the evacuation order is given, don't wait around."
The Miami Beach Police already released a mandatory evacuation order on Twitter for all those who are living in the zone A and the barrier islands of zone B, where the Miami Beach is located.
As of 11 p.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Hurricane Irma maintains its 185 mph winds as it passes through the area 85 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is also seen heading towards a west-northwest direction at 16 mph.
Aside from the prompt evacuation, Florida residents are also advised to stock up on basic supplies such as food, batteries, automobile gases, and drinking water.
