As Hurricane Irma makes its way through the Caribbean, residents in Florida are trying to figure out exactly when the storm will hit the state, and which cities will be most affected.
Unfortunately, since the path of the storm can only be projected, there are a couple of different possible outcomes.
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According to CNN, the New American Model predicts that Irma will shift back towards the East Coast before it hits Florida. This will mean the storm will hit Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.
The European model tells a different story. This projection is saying that the storm will break west, bringing the dangerous center of Irma right through the Florida Keys. If this happens, Miami will still be affected.
Either way it goes, the people of Florida are taking every precaution.
Evacuation of Florida
Earlier this week, Governor Rick Scott ordered an evacuation of the Florida Keys, and residents began making their way out.
That evacuation has extended today. A total of 650,000 people in Miami-Dade County have been ordered to leave their homes.
The airline Jetblue is doing its part to get the citizens of Florida to safety, dropping the prices of most flights out of the state down below $100 so that everyone could afford to get out safely.
Most people are driving out of the area, causing many gas stations to run out of fuel. In order to make up for this shortage, police are escorting fuel trucks to local stations so that people can gas up and get out of town before the storm.
Other Areas Being Evacuated
Florida will likely get hit the hardest by Hurricane Irma, but there are a couple of other states that could be affected.
After one projection saw the storm head up the east coast of Florida, Georgia quickly ordered an evacuation of Savannah and other coastal cities.
Just a few hours later, South Carolina followed suit. Governor Henry McMaster told residents of coastal counties to begin evacuating this week, and that a mandatory evacuation would begin at 10 am Saturday.
Hurricane Jose
Irma is the most dangerous hurricane of the season, but another major storm isn’t very far behind.
Hurricane Jose is tracking directly behind Irma, causing even more trouble for some islands in the Caribbean.
Jose is in the Atlantic, and won’t be as big of a deal to the United States, but it could be devastating for places like Barbuda and Antigua.
The new storm has now reached Category 2 status, and it could hit the island of Barbuda directly. The island already suffered catastrophic losses, as Irma destroyed nearly 90% of its structures.
Photo Credit: NASA
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