• Hurricane Irma LIVE updates: Storm intensifies to Category 4, inches closer to Lower Florida Keys

Hurricane Irma LIVE updates: Storm intensifies to Category 4, inches closer to Lower Florida Keys

Hurricane Irma: Said to be one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, the hurricane has also set off one of the largest evacuations of Americans from a storm.

By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi | Updated: September 10, 2017 2:18 pm
hurricane irma, hurricane, irma, us hurricane, florida, Cuba hurricane, irma track, cuba floods, florida floods, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg floods, tampa floods, carribean floods, tornado, indian express news Hurricane Irma: Strong waves brought by Hurricane Irma hit the Malecon seawall in Havana, Cuba, late Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (AP Photo)

After causing devastation in Cuba and killing at least 25 people in the Caribbean, Hurricane Irma is making its way towards Florida in the United States. According to the National Hurricane Centre, the wind gusts near hurricane force began to batter the Florida Keys late night on Saturday.

Believed to be one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, the hurricane has also set off one of the largest evacuations of Americans from a storm. Tracking models showed Irma would make landfall on the western side of the Florida peninsula and heading up the coast, bringing 130-mph (209 kph) winds, storm surges up to 15 feet (4.6 meters) and flooding in some areas, according to Reuters.

According to the National Hurricane Centre, Category 5 is the strongest intensity of a storm. Irma said to be the first ever storm to sustain winds of 185 miles per hour for longer than 24 hours in the open Atlantic Ocean can be devastating if it reaches its full glory. Click to see the devastation in pictures 

 

Here are LIVE updates of Hurricane Irma (According to IST):

2:14 pm:  The Indian Embassy in US has started a hotline number (202-258-8819) to provide assistance.

Indian Consulate Atlanta is running 24×7 helpline. The numbers are +14044052567 and +1678179393.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted 24×7 helpline at High Commission of India, Kingston (+1876 833 4500; +1876 564 1378). He also tweeted email ids for Indians to contact in case of emergency.(hc.kingston@mea.gov.in; hoc.kingston@mea.gov.in)

2:04 pm: The National Weather Service, Keys West, taking to Twitter said, “It is time to hunker down. The worst winds are yet to come.” It has also advised people not to venture out and take shelter in an interior room, away from the windows. People are also advised to have their shoes on and use pillows, blankets, helmets etc to protect themselves from flying debris.

1:56 pm:

1:50 pm: Florida Governor Rick Scott taking to Twitter said, “The eye of Hurricane Irma is approaching the lower Florida Keys- expected to make landfall in the next few hours.”

1:28 pm: According to National Weather Service, Keys West, storm surge has begun to impact Key West. The total water level is now 2 feet above normal.

hurricane irma, hurricane, irma, us hurricane, florida, Cuba hurricane, irma track, cuba floods, florida floods, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg floods, tampa floods, carribean floods, tornado, indian express news Observed water levels. (Source: Twitter/National Weather Service, Keys West)

1:10 pm:

12:50 pm: According to National Hurricane Centre’s report at 3:00 am local time, National Ocean Service on Pulaski Shoals Light recorded a sustained wind of 62 mph (100 kph) with a gust to 76 mph (122 kph). Miami Executive Airport just measured a sustained wind of 46 mph (74 kph) with a gust of 61 mph (98 kph).

12:15 pm: The Indian embassy has opened a round-the-clock helpline number and was rushing senior diplomats to Atlanta to lead relief efforts for Indian-Americans stuck in the region according to PTI.

The Indian Friends of Atlanta – in association with the Consulate-General of India, the Gujarat Samaj Atlanta and the Hindu Temple of Atlanta – has announced to operationalise three shelters. They were preparing to open more shelters and provide accommodation and food as several Indian businesses started contributing to relief efforts.

Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna was closely monitoring the situation, officials said. Sandeep Chakravorty, India’s consul-general in New York, was monitoring the situation through a 24X7 control room set up in Atlanta, as reported by PTI.

12:06 pm: Florida Governor Rick Scott has urged people to stay indoors and away from the windows as Hurricane Irma inches closer.

11:40 am: Irma, has picked up intensity and is now a Category 4 Hurricane according to National Hurricane Centre. The storm is also getting closer to Lower Florida Keys.

11:05 am: A National Ocean Service Station in Vaca Key, Florida sustained 41 mph (67kph) with a gust to 74 mph (119 kph) at 1 am, local time. A National Ocean Service Station located in Key West, Florida recently indicated a tide level 1.5 ft above MHHW, according to an update by National Hurricane Centre.

10:50 am:

10:40 am: Arrangements were also made to evacuate animals. Five dolphins were moved from the Florida Keys to Central Florida in advance of the storm, but most zoos and the like in the Miami area said they were trying to keep their animals in place and secure from whatever Irma will bring.

Hundreds of thoroughbreds were moved from low-lying areas of Gulfstream Park, near Miami, to other training facilities and barns farther north. Some animal shelters were relocating dogs and cats to safer facilities.

In Key West, when inmates were moved out of Monroe County Jail, 250 animals were moved in. According to officials, the jail cells are much safer for the animals than their regular farm quarters.

10:30 am: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, meanwhile, on Saturday tweeted, “Hurricane Irma — Our missions in Caracas, Havana, Georgetown and Port of Spain have reported that all Indian nationals there are safe.” In order to ensure safety of its people, the Indian embassy in US has started emergency visa and passport services at Indian consulates.

10:26 am: About 60 Indian nationals are being evacuated from the vacation island of St Martin in the Caribbean, as reported by PTI.

Most of the Indian nationals have a transit visa. For those who do not have a transit visa, Indian Embassy in Washington is in touch with the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security for getting them one, so that they can take the first available flight to the US and then travel back home.

Deputy Indian Ambassador to US Santosh Jha said over the last 48 hours the main preoccupation has been to get in touch with Indians in all parts of southern US and in the islands in the western Atlantic. “And think we should today recognise that they are in the situation of great difficulty,” he said. “We had (hurricane) Harvey just the previous month in Houston and today we are trying to cope up with the Hurricane Irma in Florida. The entire embassy since this morning has been working on that,” he said.

10:15 am: While thousands are fleeing as Irma picks up strength, few Miami beach residents refused to join the evacuation process, according to a news report in AP. “I know the town, I live in South Beach. It’s my island,” said Phillip, 39, who only gave his first name. “I’m not leaving it. I’m just gonna go where it’s not getting flooded,” he added, pointing to the bench where he was sitting.

Scott Abraham, a real estate agent in his early 40s, had a better plan: wait out the storm on the fifth floor of his seven-floor beachfront apartment with his wife and two kids. “If I lived in a house I would have left, but if it gets flooded here it’s going to take a week at least to come back. I don’t want that.

10:05 am: President Donald Trump, taking to Twitter tried to assure the citizens saying, “The US Coast Guard, FEMA and all Federal and State brave people are ready. Here comes Irma. God bless everyone!”

9:55 am: According to the National Hurricane Centre, Irma might gain strength if the centre of the storm keeps moving over warm Gulf of Mexico water. The storm currently has top sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph) and is moving northward at about 6 mph (10 kph).

9:40 am: A National Ocean Service Station in Molasses Reef, Florida, sustained winds of 54 mph (87 kph) with a gust of 62 mph (100 kph). Key West recently reported sustained winds of 41 mph (67 kph) with a gust of 68 mph (109 kph), according to National Weather Service (Key West).

9:35 am: Warning that Irma would be worse than Hurricane Andrew –which killed 65 people in 1992 — Scott, Florida’s governor, said all 20.6 million Floridians should prepare to flee. “We are running out of time. If you are in an evacuation zone, you need to go now. This is a catastrophic storm like our state has never seen,” Governor Rick Scott told reporters according to Reuters. This was also reiterated by President Donald Trump.

9:30 am: Hurricane Irma’s center shifts west to gain more strength. The storm is now aiming for St. Petersburg, not Tampa, according to AP

9:15 am: According to National Hurricane Centre, Hurricane Irma is expected to cause 10 to 15 feet of inundation above the ground level along the southwest coast of Florida. Wind hazards of Irma are also expected to spread northward through much of Georgia as well as through portions of Carolina and Alabama.

8:58 am:

hurricane irma, hurricane, irma, us hurricane, florida, Cuba hurricane, irma track, cuba floods, florida floods, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg floods, tampa floods, carribean floods, tornado, indian express news Hurricane Irma: Waves crash against the Southernmost Point in Key West, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. Hurricane Irma’s leading edge bent palm trees and spit rain as the storm swirled toward Florida on Saturday. (AP)

8:53 am: Florida Power and Light. on its website said that more than half of those outages were in the Miami-Dade area, where about 600,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. The company has also added that it expects millions of people to lose power, with some areas experiences prolonged outages. It has also assembled the largest pre-storm workforce in U.S. history, with more than 16,000 people ready to respond, according to a report in AP.

8:45 am: The hurricane is expected to hit Florida, the fourth most-populated US state on Sunday morning according to the local time. More than 6 million people in Florida and Georgia were warned to leave their homes.

8:40 am: More than 170K homes and businesses without power in Florida as Irma, with winds of 120 mph (190 kph), closes in (AP)

8:36 am: Irma was a category 5 storm when it crashed into Cuba. It gradually weakened to category 3 storm but is expected to strengthen before hitting Florida.

8:24 am: Calling Irma, a “storm of enormous destructive power”, US President Donald Trump asked “everyone in the storm path to heed all instructions, get out of its way.” “Property is replaceable but lives are not and safety has to come first,” he said.

8:13 am: According to The National Weather Service, the first hurricane-force wind gust has been recorded in the Florida Keys. The service says the Smith Shoal Light station recorded a 74 mph (119 kph) wind gust on Saturday night.The center of Irma is headed toward the Keys and has sustained winds of 120 mph (193.11 kph) as reported by AP at 10:15 pm local time.

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