07 September, 2017
Hurricane Katia has formed in the southwest Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center says.
US President Donald Trump said he and aides were monitoring Irma's progress. Damage to property is also much more likely and power outages are expected.
He said it will cost over US$150 million to rebuild the island, a process that will take years.
Hurricane Irma sowed a trail of deadly devastation through the Caribbean, reducing to rubble the tropical islands of Barbuda and St Martin and claiming at least seven lives.
Her home is on a mountain and she said Irma's heavy winds were so strong she and her family moved to one of the villas in their hotel and she says she thinks she made the right decision to move to a lower point.
The Weather Channel has a free Android app called the Weather & Hurricane Tracker that comes with interactive maps that let you see where storms are headed.
As Hurricane Irma inches ever-closer to the USA mainland, passing over Caribbean islands in its approach, the first hints of its potential to devastate are chilling. It has maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, sustaining its previous strength in the last update.
Already deadly Hurricane Irma, is raging as a Category 5 storm in the Atlantic.
In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster also declared a state of emergency and urged residents to prepare for Irma's potential landfall there.
As of early this evening, Culebra saw wind gusts of 100 miles per hour! It's now threatening Puerto Rico and is headed for Florida with possible landfall there by the end of the weekend. This unit has participated in all major domestic operations in New Jersey, including hurricanes Irene and Sandy.
"A warning means that hurricane conditions are expected whereas a watch means that conditions are possible", the office explains.
New Zealanders in the path of the hurricane are advised to follow any instructions issued by the local authorities, including any evacuation orders. A watch is typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside preparations hard or unsafe.
An earlier turn would be the best case scenario for our area.
