Hurricane Irma leaves a trail of destruction in Cuba and is expected to hit Miami.
Hurricane Irma made landfall on Friday night (8) on the north coast of Cuba after leaving a trail of destruction in its wake through the Caribbean; the gigantic hurricane hit the Camagüey archipelago, 190 km from Caibarién, at 3 am; the Cuban city is only 485 km from Miami; in Florida, where meteorologists warn that the storm could raise normal sea levels by up to eight meters, more than half a million people will be evacuated, causing a mass exodus that is hampered by traffic jams and fuel shortages.
Da Radio France International - Hurricane Irma made landfall on Friday night (8) on the north coast of Cuba after leaving a trail of destruction in its path through the Caribbean. The information was released by the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The gigantic hurricane hit the Camagüey archipelago, 190 km from Caibarién, at 3 am. The Cuban city is only 485 km from Miami. Winds reached over 260 km/h, placing it in category 5, the most violent on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which measures the strength of this type of phenomenon. The first effects of Irma were already felt on Friday morning in Baracoa, the oldest city in Cuba, where the sea even flooded the city center.
The arrival of Hurricane Irma caused the displacement of more than one million people, mainly in the provinces of Holguín, Tunas, Camagüey, Sancti Spíritus, and Granma, according to Civil Defense data. In the tourist areas of the northern coast, more than 10.000 foreign tourists and thousands of other Cubans were evacuated to safe locations, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
The most dangerous moment for Cuba, according to General Ramón Pardo Guerra, head of Civil Defense, will be on Saturday afternoon, when Irma turns north towards the Florida peninsula. This will be the moment when the hurricane is closest to the Cuban coast and moving at its slowest speed, so its effects will be more devastating.
Watch NASA's video about the hurricane:
Mass evacuation
In Florida, where meteorologists warn that the storm could raise sea levels by up to eight meters, more than half a million people will be evacuated, causing a mass exodus hampered by traffic jams and fuel shortages.
On Friday, Miami Beach was deserted and shop windows were boarded up. Police cars patrolled the coastal roads of West Palm Beach, repeating the message: "Attention, attention, this is a mandatory evacuation zone. Please leave."
In neighboring Georgia, Governor Nathan Deal also ordered the evacuation of the city of Savannah, with a population of about 150 people, and other coastal areas. According to the National Hurricane Center, based in Miami, Irma is expected to hit the Florida Keys on Saturday night before moving inland.