Irma is already a category 4 hurricane. Moving across the Atlantic to the United States, the chances of its effects on US soil in the coming days are increasing. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest bulletin on Monday that it is moving toward the Caribbean with winds of 140 miles per hour (225 km) and could hit Florida by the end of week.
Irma is moving west about 13 miles (20 kilometers per hour). It is planned to continue in that direction until Tuesday, when it will turn west-northwest. The center of the hurricane will reach north of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean between Tuesday night and early Wednesday.
Although forecasters still can not describe the exact course of the cyclone, the NHC stressed in the 11 pm news bulletin on Monday that with the information currently available, "there is a growing possibility of seeing some impacts of Irma in Florida and the Keys by the end of this week and over the weekend. "
Against this background, Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in Florida because of the possibility of the storm beating the state.
"In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best and while Irma's exact route is not absolutely clear at the moment, we can not afford not being prepared," Scott said.
A hurricane warning has also been issued for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Vieques, Culebra and Guadalupe. In fact, the government of Puerto Rico began the preparations before the arrival of Irma and declared the state of emergency in the country. Ricardo Rosselló, governor of the island, also announced that classes in public schools were suspended on Tuesday and officials will leave at noon.
A hurricane warning was also launched for Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, and Nevis. Also, a hurricane warning is in place for the British Virgin Islands.
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