Floridians await the arrival of the first hurricane in more than a decade heads toward land at “life-threatening” speeds.
The National Hurricane Centre said violent winds from Hurricane Hermine reached 80 miles per hour Thursday night, and will likely increase by the time it hits the shore early Friday morning.
Hermine is expected to strike in the Big Bend area on the northeast edge of the Gulf of Mexico.
Florida Gov Rick Scott urged residents to move inland before Hermine reached land, warning of dangerous wind speeds, downed trees, and power outages, reminded people to make sure they were equipped with supplies, like food, water, and medicine, the
“This is a life-threatening situation,” Mr Scott said in his address. “It’s going to be a lot of risk. Right now, I want everybody to be safe.”
Mr Scott said that 6,000 National Guardsmen are ready to mobilise once the storm passes.
Residents have posted countless videos to social media that show torrential rains, heavy winds, and in one instance a huge flash said to have been a power station.
There were reports of 9,200 power outages in north Florida by Thursday evening.
Both governors of North Carolina and Georgia have issued states of emergency. Hermine is expected to move into Georgia, but will likely be downgraded to a tropical storm by that time.
Florida has not seen a hurricane since the Category 3 storm, Wilma, hit on 24 October 2005. It landed in south Florida, killing five people and causing roughly $23bn in total damage.
Chris Greaves, a Big Bend area resident preparing for Hermine, shared memories of Hurricane Andrew, which devastated the area in 1992. He told the AP that he did not expect the same amount of widespread damage, but remained cautious because tropical weather is “nothing to mess with”.
Courtney Chason expressed similar concerns.
“I’ve never seen [the coastal waves] this high, it’s pretty damn crazy,” she said. “I hope it doesn’t get any higher; we need lots of prayers.”
