Hurricane Irma on Track to Change Course of Florida History

Hurricane Irma has officially made landfall in Florida, but a new report suggests that the storm could potentially change the course of history for the panhandle state.

Rolling Stone reports when Irma was swirling away as a category five storm, the sheer energy output was like nothing we’ve ever seen in the modern world. At one point, its winds were packing nearly 100 terajoules of energy, which is more than the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima if it were repeatedly exploding.

This means that the outsized energy output of Irma has more destructive potential that is more than three times of what Hurricane Harvey’s was.

It also means that Irma’s destructive potential could be more than six times worse than Hurricane Andrew, which tore through Florida in 1992 as a category five storm.

At the current time, Irma has been downgraded to a category three storm, but with as much as it has changed over the course of the last week, it could potentially upgrade back to a four or a five at any time.

As Hurricane Irma barrels toward Florida, government officials have pleaded with residents of the state to evacuate, but some are preparing to stand their ground instead.

As reported by the New York Post, many Floridians have chosen to board up their windows and doors and just ride out the storm.

“No. 1, I don’t have anywhere to go,” Florida attorney, Carl Roberts said. “Hurricane damage is primarily water rising. And I’m on the 17th floor. I have security shutters, so I should be quite safe here.”

Roberts is said to have an abundance of Chinese food, a case of bottled water, and a near-priceless view of the action from his 17th-floor condo on the Gulf front.

He claims that those are all the essentials he needs in order to make it through the storm.

Over in South Beach at Mac’s Club Deuce, the operators have boarded up, but wrote “We’re Open Irma” on the plywood covering the windows.

Inside, the jukebox is still on and patrons are still enjoying a drink and playing pool.

“Where am I going to go?” Kathleen Paca, one of the club’s frequenters said. “It’s not going to be that bad. I’m on the second floor and have impact windows. I’ve thrown coconuts at my windows and they don’t break.”

Paca and Roberts aren’t the only ones either. There are many Floridians who are choosing to wait it out rather than abandon their homes and head to safer areas.