hurricane idealia has gained strength and is heading towards the US state of Florida. Persistent wind speeds of up to 155 kilometers per hour were measured, said the US Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami on Tuesday evening (local time). This corresponds to a category two hurricane on the five-point scale. It is expected that idealia life-threatening flooding on parts of Florida’s west coast, such as in the Big Bend region south of Tallahassee.
On Wednesday morning could idealia hit the west coast of the state as a category three hurricane. Numerous precautions have been taken in Florida. In 28 districts, residents were asked to leave their homes and go outside idealia to bring to safety.
The state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, urged people on Tuesday to follow the authorities’ instructions. “If you choose to stay in one of the evacuation zones, rescue workers will not be able to reach you until the storm has passed,” he warned. “You really have to go now.” It’s not necessary to drive hundreds of miles, he said. It is often enough to move about ten kilometers out of the predicted path of the storm.
The head of the national civil protection agency FEMA, Deanne Criswell, said at a press conference in the White House that not only Florida, but also the states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina would have emergency teams available immediately after the storm subsided in the hardest-hit areas would be sent. They are also prepared to provide food, water, blankets and medicines to people in the affected areas. She described the expected storm surges as one of the greatest risks of the hurricane, which could quickly become fatal. US President Joe Biden pledged full support to the state. National Guard members stood by for any rescue efforts.
The airport in Tampa temporarily suspended flight operations. Many schools in Florida remained closed. Heavy rains and storms are also expected in the interior and on the east coast of Florida.
hurricane ian had caused enormous damage in the state last fall, more than a hundred people lost their lives. At that time, the center of the storm was a little further south and in a more densely populated area than now expected.
Because roads are flooded, people and vehicles are slowing down in Batabano, Cuba.
(Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP)
Already caused since Monday idealia in western Cuba heavy rain and strong winds, which were also felt in the capital Havana. There were power outages there, as well as in the more severely affected parts of the Caribbean state. There were floods in the province of Pinar del Río, known for tobacco cultivation, and on the Cuban island of Isla de la Juventud, the state news agency ACN reported on Tuesday. Some communities were cut off from the outside world and hundreds of people were brought to safety. Pinar del Río also suffered from the hurricane ian given serious damage.
Tropical cyclone season lasts from June to November in the Atlantic. There is talk of a hurricane from sustained wind speeds of 119 kilometers per hour. According to experts, climate change is increasing the likelihood of strong storms.
The strength of hurricanes is measured according to a scale developed by meteorologists Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson: A Category 1 hurricane reaches up to 153 kilometers per hour. Stage 2 applies to Tempo 177, Stage 3 to 208 and Stage 4 to 251. Devastating damage threatens a hurricane in the highest category 5, which rotates with a wind speed of more than 251 kilometers per hour.