Hurricane Michael is currently barreling toward the 300-mile Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, where Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency across 35 counties.
The Florida governor has warned of the rapidly intensifying storm’s potentially dangerous winds of 115 mph., life-threatening storm surges of up to 12 feet, and heavy rainfall that’s expected to bring sudden flash floods.
The hurricane, which meteorologists anticipate will strengthen to a category 3 storm, will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday before it makes landfall on Wednesday and races northeastward over Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, according tothe National Hurricane Center.
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It is currently roughly420 miles south of Panama City, Florida, Weather.com reported.“We are about 12 hours away fromstarting to feel the impacts of this,” Scott said Tuesday morning, during an interview with ABC’sGood Morning America.“We haven’t seen anything like this in the Panhandle in decades.”
“You cannot survive this, no one is going to survive this,” he added, encouraging residents to evacuate and comparing the wave sizes to those oflast month’s devastating tsunami in Indonesia. “The water just flows in fast and sucks things out. … Don’t take a chance.”
Officials with the National Weather Service’s office in Tallahassee said on Monday that the storm “could develop into apotentially catastrophic eventfor the northeastern Gulf Coast.”
Meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said Hurricane Michael is expected to bethe strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Gulf Coast in 12 years, the last being 2005’s Hurricane Dennis.
States of emergency have been declared for Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Gadsden, Liberty, Franklin, Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Hamilton, Suwannee, Lafayette, Dixie, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, Citrus, Pasco, Hernando, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Alachua, Union, Bradford and Baker counties.
“This storm will be life-threatening and extremely dangerous,” Scott said in a Sunday night news conference. “This storm has the potential to bring devastating impacts to communities across the Panhandle and Big Bend and every family must be prepared.”
“The window of time to prepare is closing,” he tweeted on Tuesday. “This is a serious and life-threatening situation- don’t take any chances. If you have been told to evacuate, leave.”
source: people.com
