Hurricane Hermine makes landfall in Florida

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By Catherine Hardy  with Reuters
Hurricane Hermine makes landfall in Florida

Hurricane Hermine has made landfall in Florida.

This is life-threatening

Rick Scott Florida Governor

The Category 1 hurricane has brought winds of 130 kilometres an hour to several areas of the US state.

Up to 12 centimetres of rain have been reported in some places.



Are people being evacuated from their homes?



Yes.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of five counties in northwestern Florida. Voluntary evacuations are underway in at least three others.

Twenty emergency shelters have been opened across the state for those displaced by the storm.

The governors of Georgia and North Carolina have declared emergencies in areas affected by the storms.

A state of emergency has been declared in 51 of Florida’s 67 counties. Schools have been closed in at least 20.



Have there been power cuts?



Yes.

More than 70,000 households in Tallahassee are without power. Thousands more have reportedly been affected along the coast.



Are there concerns about a storm surge?



Yes.

The National Hurricane Center is warning that Hurricane Hermine has come with a dangerous storm surge that is expected to cause three metres of flooding in some areas.

Rising waters are moving inland from the coast.



What about tornadoes?



The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings for communities throughout northern Florida on Friday.

The National Hurricane Center has extended a tropical storm watch to Sandy Hook in New Jersey.

See the latest on the situation here



In tweets












What are they saying?



“It is a mess, we have high water in numerous places. I was here in 1985 for Hurricane Elena and I don’t recall anything this bad,” – Virgil Sandlin, police chief in Cedar Key, Florida.

“Hurricane Hermine is strengthening fast and it will impact the majority of our state,” – Florida governor Rick Scott.