Slow-moving hurricane Irma hits Florida; residents asked to take shelter

The hurricane had hit Caribbean Islands on Wednesday, killing 24 people.

The normal life of Florida residents will be affected later in the day when the Category 4 hurricane Irma makes landfall in the southern state of the US.

The authorities have started giving an advisory to the residents to stop the evacuation process and start finding shelters as the winds have started becoming heavier, said reports.

According to the MET department, the outermost layer of the storm has hit the Florida Keys on Saturday delivering heavy rains and a wind speed of 74 mph.

The storm, which has started changing course toward Florida Strait from its Cuban northern coast path, is estimated to reach a maximum speed of 120 mph.

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The eye of the storm, which is the most violent and furious part of any storm, is expected to cross the Florida Keys early on Sunday morning. The National Hurricane Centre has warned of the possibility of Irma hitting the US mainland as a category 4 hurricane.

According to CNN reports, the cyclonic hurricane which already caused widespread damage in the Caribbean, killing 24 people, is expected to put 36 million Americans under the threat on Sunday.

As the storm got closer and its path estimated, the authorities have evacuated close to 6.5 million people from parts of Florida to safer locations.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said during a news briefing on Saturday evening, “If you have been ordered to evacuate, you need to leave now. This is your last chance to make a good decision.”

“If you didn’t evacuate the Keys, you’re on your own until we can actually get in there and it’s safe,” said Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long to CNN.

“The message has been clear: The Keys are going to be impacted. There is no safe area within the Keys. And you put your life in your own hands by not evacuating,” he added.

What is more startling for the residents of Florida is the possibility of storm surge – a rising of the sea as a result of the wind and atmospheric pressure, which could result in a long high tide like phenomenon, causing widespread flooding and even water level reaching as high as 15 feet in low lying areas.

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Florida Keys, Tampa Bay, and a huge portion of Florida’s coastline extending as far as Ochlockonee River has been put under storm surge warning.

Governor Scott was quoted by CNN saying, “You can’t survive these storm surges…You’ve got to get out. You’ve got to evacuate. This storm is coming. Once the storm’s here, we can’t evacuate anybody.”

Hurricane Irma, which was a Category 5 hurricane when it hit the Caribbean islands and Puerto Rico when moved to Cuba’s Ciego de Avila province, came down as a Category 4.