Irma’s winds are currently whipping at 130 mph, and the storm is expected to get stronger in the next 48 hours.
Now that Hurricane Irma has strengthened into a Category 4 Hurricane and is barreling toward the Caribbean islands, Florida’s governor has declared a state of emergency and is urging his residents to prepare for what could be a powerful storm.
The threat of Irma is hitting the United States as Texas is still searching for its dead after being flooded by Hurricane Harvey in the last 10 days. The death toll with that storm has reached at least 60, according to The Associated Press.
Monday night, Governor Rick Scott ordered his state’s 67 counties to being prepping for the storm, after the latest forecast track showed that Irma could reach South Florida by Friday.
“Hurricane Irma is a major and life-threatening storm and Florida must be prepared. I have continued to be briefed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Hurricane Irma and current forecast models have Florida in Irma’s path – potentially impacting millions of Floridians, ” Scott said, according to CBS Channel 12.
“In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best and while the exact path of Irma is not absolutely known at this time, we cannot afford to not be prepared.”
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According to the National Hurricane Center, Irma is picking up strength as she takes aim at the Leeward Islands for landfall on Tuesday.
A hurricane warning is now in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy.
A hurricane watch has been issued for Guadeloupe, the British Virgin Islands, the U. S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Vieques, and Culebra.
Once Irma leaves the Caribbean, it’s not clear exactly where the storm will track, or how powerful it will be.
Irma’s current sustained winds are clocking in at 130 mph. It’s expected to get stronger in the next 48 hours.
