Florida Braces for ‘Life-Threatening’ Hurricane Hermine 

Washington: Residents in Florida’s coastal areas were issued warnings to brace themselves for hurricane Hermine, the first to hit the US state since 2005.

Calling Hermine “life-threatening”, Florida Governor Rick Scott on Thursday warned of the danger of potentially strong storm surge, high wind and large-scale power outages and urged people in the hurricane’s path to hoard at least three days of supplies and to retreat to inland shelters if necessary. “The most important thing we all must put in our minds is that this is life-threatening,” said Scott at a press conference in Tallahassee. Scott added that 6,000 National Guardsmen in Florida are ready to mobilise after the storm passes.

As of 5 pm (local time) on Thursday, Hermine was in the Gulf of Mexico, centred about 85 miles south of Apalachicola, Florida, and was moving northeast at about 14 mph. Forecasters said it would strengthen slightly before blowing ashore but would still be only a Category 1 hurricane, meaning a wind speed of between 74 and 95 mph. Projected rainfall ranged up to 10 inches in parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia, with 4 to 10 inches possible along the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas by Sunday. The governors of Georgia and North Carolina declared states of emergency.

So far, a state of emergency had been declared for 51 of Florida’s 67 counties. According to an advisory released by the US National Hurricane Centre, Hermine was expected to reach Florida’s Gulf Coast early Friday.

Hermine was expected to blow ashore late Thursday or early today along the state’s Big Bend - the mostly rural and lightly populated corner where the Florida peninsula meets the Panhandle - then drop back down to a tropical storm and push into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast with the potential for drenching rain and deadly flooding.

IANS