President Donald Trump approved multiple emergency declarations Tuesday as Hurricane Irma bore down on the Caribbean, as officials across the region prepared for the pending disaster.
By Tuesday evening, the Category 5 storm was located about 130 miles east of Antigua, an island at the rim of the Caribbean and one of the first land masses in the storm’s path, with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour.
The hurricane is expected to reach Puerto Rico by Wednesday, and could hit Cuba on Friday and Florida by the weekend.
Both Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and Florida Gov. Rick Scott have declared states of emergency, and with the storm inching nearer Tuesday, Trump also approved emergency declarations for the territory and state, as well as the US Virgin Islands.
The declarations aim to “help alleviate the hardship and suffering that the emergency may inflict on the local population,” and give the affected areas access to federal relief funding, according to White House statements.
In a news conference Tuesday evening, Scott outlined his state’s preparations, including plans to close schools and government buildings. Supplies are being staged in Orlando and will be distributed to impacted areas, he said.
The governor also announced that he has activated a small number of Florida National Guard members to support the state’s planning and logistics efforts, and said that all 7,000 guard troops in the state will report for duty Friday morning.
In Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for tourists that is set to begin at sunrise on Wednesday. An evacuation order for residents is also expected, the county said in a statement.
“If ever there was a storm to take seriously in the Keys, this is it,” Monroe County Emergency Management Director Martin Senterfitt said. “The sooner people leave, the better.”
In Miami-Dade County, voluntary evacuations could begin Wednesday evening, the Associated Press reported.
In some parts of the state, images have already emerged showing empty grocery store shelves and long lines at gas stations as Floridians stocked up before Irma’s arrival.
During his press conference, Scott advised people to heed future evacuation orders, and noted that Irma’s impact could be severe.
“This storm has the potential to devastate this state,” he said.
In Puerto Rico, Rosselló described Irma as “much more dangerous than Harvey,” and said the “results could be catastrophic and devastating,” the AP reported.
Further south in the Caribbean, flights were canceled and airports closed. In the Leeward Islands — which include Antigua as well as Saint Martin, Barbuda, and others — images Tuesday already showed intense wind as Irma approached.
