Hurricane Hermine makes landfall in Florida
Comments
Hurricane Hermine has made landfall in Florida.
This is life-threatening
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
BREAKING: #Tropical storm warnings issued for parts of NE FL, SC coasts. Watches extend to Surf City, NC. #Herminepic.twitter.com/OLbUb0dzqW
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) September 1, 2016
#hermine is heading in to Florida. Spectaculair photo via Weerwoord. #weatherphoto#hurricanepic.twitter.com/v7Ub2l0wCS
— #WeatherPhoto (@photoweather1) September 2, 2016
Hurricane Hermine makes landfall in Florida https://t.co/qwOuvixFIV
— TIME.com (@TIME) September 2, 2016
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.