SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Hurricane Irma grew into a powerful Category 4 storm Monday as it approached the northeastern Caribbean and was forecast to begin buffeting the region Tuesday. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph late Monday afternoon, and the U…
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Hurricane Irma grew into a powerful Category 4 storm Monday as it approached the northeastern Caribbean and was forecast to begin buffeting the region Tuesday.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph late Monday afternoon, and the U. S. National Hurricane Center said additional strengthening was expected. Irma was centered 490 miles east of the Leeward Islands and moving west at 13 mph.
Emergency officials warned that the storm could dump up to 10 inches of rain, unleash landslides and dangerous flash floods and generate waves of up to 23 feet as the storm drew closer.
„We’re looking at Irma as a very significant event, “ Ronald Jackson, executive director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, said by phone. „I can’t recall a tropical cone developing that rapidly into a major hurricane prior to arriving in the central Caribbean.“
The storm’s center was forecast to move near or over the northern Leeward Islands late Tuesday and early Wednesday, the hurricane center said.
U. S. residents were urged to monitor the storm’s progress in case it should turn northward toward Florida, Georgia or the Carolinas.
„This hurricane has the potential to be a major event for the East Coast. It also has the potential to significantly strain FEMA and other governmental resources occurring so quickly on the heels of Harvey, “ Evan Myers, chief operating officer of AccuWeather, said in a statement.
Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency throughout the state.
„Hurricane Irma is a major and life-threatening storm and Florida must be prepared, “ Scott said. „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.“
Warnings were posted for several islands in the eastern Caribbean Monday morning when Irma was a Category 3 hurricane.
Hurricane warnings are now in effect for a long list of islands, including the islands of Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, St. Martin and Nevis.
Meanwhile, South Floridians started emptying store shelves in early preparation for Irma. Shelves usually brimming with water bottles were bare at several stores Sunday afternoon. In the Caribbean, the director of Puerto Rico’s power company predicted that storm damage could leave some areas of the U. S. territory without electricity for four to six months.
But „some areas will have power (back) in less than a week, “ Ricardo Ramos told radio station Notiuno 630 AM.
The power company’s system has deteriorated greatly amid Puerto Rico’s decade-long recession, and the territory experienced an island wide outage last year. Meanwhile, the governor of the British Virgin Islands urged people on Anegada island to leave if they could, noting that Irma’s eye was expected to pass 35 miles (56 kilometers) from the capital of Road Town.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello activated the National Guard, canceled classes for Tuesday and declared a half-day of work.
