With Americans still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Harvey just weeks ago, another monster storm threatens islands throughout the Caribbean as well as the entire state of Florida.
As of Wednesday morning, Hurricane Irma continued to draw closer to Florida as a whopping Category 5 storm. Gov. Rick Scott urged residents to evacuate in parts of the Sunshine State, including the southernmost portion of the state, the Florida Keys.
A Category 5 equates to it being the highest possible on the hurricane scale. Packing winds of 185 mph, Irma could go down as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded.
It threatens to even dwarf Harvey, which recently walloped Texas, displacing tens of thousands of residents and causing upwards of $200 billion in damages.
Scott on Wednesday declared a state of emergency effective 7 a.m.
Meanwhile, stores reported running out of essential supplies such as water, batteries and hardware.
“Please get your medications now,” Scott said at a news conference Wednesday. “Obey members of the National Guard and other officials and evacuate immediately. Don’t wait — this storm is going to cause severe damage.”