Today, Saturday, as hurricane Irma fell to Cuba with a deafening winds and relentless rain. The water level rose, what was the cause of the flooding. As a result, thousands of houses were flooded, in some areas stopped the supply of electricity. In another part of the Caribbean Islands, already recovered from the wrath of Irma, prepare for the second disaster – hurricane Jose.
Irma turned the Island into chaos. The winds were so strong that broke trees, felled poles, and wore fragments of debris through the air at great speed. Eyewitnesses told news Agency AP that the provincial Museum, which was located near the epicenter of the storm, now lies in ruins.
WATCH: Islands in the Caribbean have been left in ruins after Hurricane Irma struck with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. pic.twitter.com/sxxLsv9qbP
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 9, 2017
According to preliminary data, the hurricane Irma claimed at least 20 lives before he left the Islands in the Caribbean and moved to Florida. Forecasters say the storm slowed down after hitting the North coast of Cuba, but the wind speed is likely to rise again on the approach to the sunshine state.
The past 24 hours have been an absolute nightmare for the northern coast of #Cuba as what was a Category 5 Major Hurricane #Irma scraped by. pic.twitter.com/gFxLd1aQYj
— Michael Ventrice (@MJVentrice) September 9, 2017
Fortunately for the residents of Miami, she changed course, and is now threatening to forcefully hit areas of Tampa.
Forecasters predicted that the center of hurricane Irma Sunday will be in the Florida Keys, and then will cover southwest Florida, will move into the Gulf coast and makes landfall in near Tampa Bay. It is expected that the storm will bypass Miami, but the city will continue to be exposed to life-threatening storms.
The Outter band of #Irma in Florida. pic.twitter.com/LhANKWYyes
— Vista Earth (@VistaEarth) September 9, 2017
Tampa was not in the path of a major storm since 1921, when the city’s population was about 10,000 people. Currently, this area has about 3 million inhabitants and covers two of the largest cities in Florida: Tampa and St. Petersburg.
A sharp change of course of the hurricane was a pleasant surprise for residents of Tampa Bay. Entrepreneur Jeff Birbaum planned to wait out the storm in his high-rise condominium in downtown St Petersburg. He carefully prepared for «the siege», but now is forced to quickly evacuate, going at the last moment.
Miami is a little windy. #Irma pic.twitter.com/1eZzrhKxmh
— Vitaliy Chernyavskiy (@Maxdisk) September 9, 2017
In one of the largest evacuationsever declared in the USA, about 6.3 million people in Florida — more than a quarter of the state’s population – forced to leave their homes, and another 540 000 people left the coast of Georgia. Authorities opened hundreds of shelters for those who could not or did not have time to leave. Hotels until filled Atlanta evacuated.
With the winds, which reaches a speed of 185 miles per hour, Irma became the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic. And given the size and strength of the hurricane and his projected course, he may well be one of the most devastating hurricanesthat ever struck Florida.
