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Florida Governor Orders 5.6 Million People To Evacuate Due To Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma has already been on her path of destruction for a few days now and the Governor Florida is not taking any changes with its residents as well as tourists’ safety with this massive storm that could hit soon in the Miami area.

According to reports Irma is the biggest and strongest storm to hit the Florida area since Hurricane Rita.

EarHustle411 and the writing staff will continue to pray for those affected by Hurricane Harvey as well as those from Irma.

Read more as reported by CNN:

Photo Credit: CNN (Video Screenshots)

Residents of the Miami area and the Florida Keys streamed north in packed vehicles Friday, anxiously rushing to dodge Hurricane Irma as the deadly storm took aim at the state after devastating the Caribbean.

The dramatic mass exodus from South Florida could become one of the largest evacuations in US history, CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen said. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are home to about 6 million people combined.
But the clock is ticking for those who haven’t left yet, officials warned.

“Get inland for safety,” Gov. Rick Scott said.
The National Hurricane Center predicted that Irma could strengthen into a Category 5 storm again before it hits the Florida Keys this weekend.

“Based on what we know, the majority of Florida will have major hurricane impact and deadly winds. We expect this along the entire east coast and west coast,” the governor said at a news conference. “All Floridians should be prepared to evacuate.” If homeowners need help with damage claims, they can call a local public adjuster.

On the road

I Thousands of motorists braved clogged roads, backups and slowdowns to get out. Some drivers waited for hours at gas stations, some of which ran out of fuel. The Florida Highway Patrol escorted fuel tankers so they could reach and resupply gas stations, the agency reported.

Travel hot spots included interstates 10, 95 and 75, and Florida’s Turnpike. Troopers monitored roadways, stepping in to help after fender-benders and with disabled cars and trucks.

Yesenia Rivera left the Jacksonville Beach area Friday and, three and a half hours later, was traveling west on Interstate 10 near Lake City, Florida. “There is still severe congestion and stop-and-go traffic all the way to Tallahassee,” she told CNN.

Many Floridians were streaming north to Georgia, and transportation officials said long areas of congestion were occurring on segments of I-75 northbound and I-95 northbound. The statement warned that motorists heading to the Atlanta region and places farther north should expect a longer than normal drive — as long as four hours of extra travel time between Florida and Atlanta.

“Thousands” of vehicles were causing bumper-to-bumper traffic in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 south of Savannah, Georgia, late Friday, CNN senior producer Bill Kirkos reported.

He said the parking lots of gas stations and truck stops were filled with parked cars, although it appeared stations had gas supplies and short lines.

Heading in the opposite direction, toward Florida, were utility trucks with out-of-state license plates, including a handful with Massachusetts plates, Kirkos said.

The Georgia Department of Transportation suspended construction on interstates and state routes due to the expected surge of traffic from Florida. Construction will resume on Wednesday.

In Florida, mandatory evacuation orders covered parts of Miami-Dade County, Broward County east of US 1, Palm Beach County, low-lying parts of Brevard County, coastal and low-lying areas of Jacksonville and Duval County, and Monroe County, home to the Florida Keys.

The evacuation of Miami-Dade County was the largest in the county’s history, with an estimated 660,000 people asked to leave, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said.

‘You could die’

Some people heard officials’ dire admonition loud and clear.

“If you don’t heed the warning, you could die,” Key Largo resident Don Anderson told CNN. “This is your life. What’s it worth? You can always party later.”

Ignoring official advisories, other residents stocked up on supplies and prepared to ride it out.

“I have been here 15 years and been through so many storms. We have been told many times to evacuate,” said Scott Abraham, who lives on the 11th floor of a building on Miami Beach. “I don’t think it’s going to hit us directly. If it does, I think we are safe. We have food. We have supplies. We have everything we need.”
“We are ready to rock and roll with the storm,” he said.

Flying out of the storm zone

Some Floridians unwilling to risk chaos on the highways opted to try to fly out of town. Delta Air Lines added flights out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West to Atlanta, its largest hub, and allowed passengers affected by Irma to rebook flights for free, the airline said.

Source: CNN

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