Tech: Florida and Georgia officials are issuing evacuation orders as Hurricane Irma approaches with 175-mph winds

Hurricane Irma is one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, and Florida and Georgia are getting ready.

• Hurricane Irma is barreling toward the US mainland
• Officials in Florida and Georgia have ordered mandatory evacuations
• Florida Gov. Rick Scott activated the Florida National Guard
• Florida and Georgia have mandatory evacuations in coastal areas

Hurricane Irma continues to barrel toward Florida, and state officials are already ordering evacuations from areas likely to be hardest-hit if the storm makes landfall.

Irma — one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic — is a Category 5 hurricane with maximum wind speeds of 175 mph. The storm has hit several Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico and St. Martin, and comes just a week after flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey destroyed buildings and neighborhoods in Texas.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott activated the entire Florida National Guard on Tuesday, calling on all 7,000 members to report for duty on Friday morning.

Scott also asked President Donald Trump to declare a state of emergency for Florida to free up federal funding for evacuations and flooding infrastructure, which the president granted.

"Please do not ignore evacuation orders," Scott tweeted on Wednesday. "Remember, we can rebuild your home, not your life." He reiterated this point in multiple news conferences throughout the week.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio also issued warnings about the hurricane on Twitter:

Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that he has already deployed crisis professionals to assist in Florida.

"Just like in Texas, the response to Irma is going to take all levels of government and the whole community," Long said in a statement. "This has the potential to be a catastrophic storm."

Models are predicting that Irma will make a direct hit on Sunday, though forecasters still aren't certain of how strong the storm will be or where exactly it will travel.

But hurricane-force winds extend up to 70 miles from Irma's center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 185 miles, according to the National Hurricane Center. Florida's peninsula is only about 140 miles across at its widest, so Irma could engulf the entire state with its powerful winds.

Evacuations

Officials in Monroe County, where the Florida Keys are located, ordered a mandatory evacuation for tourists by Tuesday morning and ordered mandatory evacuations for all residents on Wednesday morning. The county's schools also closed Wednesday, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Miami began ordering evacuations in vulnerable areas — like Miami Beach — on Wednesday morning. Schools in Miami will be closed on Thursday and Friday.

The mayor of Miami-Dade County, Carlos Giménez, urged residents who are staying in their homes to have at least three days of food and water on hand, according to The Washington Post.

"This hurricane is far too powerful, poses far too great a threat for us to delay actions any further," Giménez said.

Gas stations and grocery stores in coastal areas are also running out of supplies, the Post reports, with some residents lining up for hours to fuel their vehicles. Traffic is likely to be slow along evacuation routes, though Scott waived all tolls to facilitate travel.

Miami International Airport is open but has issued a travel warning ahead of the storm. Airline officials at Orlando International say they're monitoring the storm and will decide whether to relocate planes and move equipment off the runway as necessary.

Airlines including American, JetBlue, Spirit, and Air Canada are issuing waivers for travelers to change their itineraries to a number of Florida airports for no fee.

South Carolina, Georgia

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, as forecasts are predicting Irma could hit the state.

"The state of emergency allows one of the best, most experienced emergency response teams on earth to begin organizing response efforts," McMaster tweeted.

"South Carolina is fortunate to have time to allow us to prepare for Hurricane Irma’s potential landfall," he continued. "And it is important that families and individuals in vulnerable areas use that time to review safety plans in case they are needed."

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in 30 counties in coastal Georgia, and issued an executive order authorizing up to 5,000 state National Guard troops to assist with rescue and relief efforts.

Deal further ordered the mandatory evacuation of Chatham County and other coastal areas in Georgia.

Hurricane warnings were also issued for 12 island groups in the Caribbean, including Turks and Caicos and the Dominican Republic, with residents urged to evacuate ahead of the storm. As of Thursday, Irma has caused severe damage and flooding in Barbuda, St. Martin, Anguilla, and Puerto Rico.

See a list of Florida evacuation zones here »

Hurricane Irma is one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, and Florida and Georgia are getting ready. Read Full Story