Florida’s major theme parks are planning to close as Hurricane Irma approaches the state. Officials at Walt Disney World in Orlando announced Friday afternoon that its parks will close on Saturday and remain closed through Monday.
New Jersey is deploying troops and a specialized task force to Florida to help with Hurricane Irma. The state’s Army National Guard 253rd transportation company departs from Cape May County on Friday for central Florida. The unit is equipped with high-wheeled vehicles. A Naval reserve unit was deployed on Thursday evening, which is equipped with boats and towing vehicles.
After returning from an overnight flight on the Hurricane Hunter WP-3 aircraft to inspect Hurricane Irma, Dennis Ross can attest the coming storm could do “serious damage” to Florida and the Southeast.
As Hurricane Irma approaches Florida, the Division of Emergency Management provided updated information on evacuations that officially began as of Friday morning. Pinellas County was under a mandatory evacuation for zone A and those living in mobile homes. Manatee is under a voluntary evacuation for zone A.
Republican candidate for governor and state Sen. Jack Latvala says state officials may have “overdone it” in preparing for Hurricane Irma.
All public K-12 schools, state colleges and state universities have been shut down from today through Monday to ensure room for “sheltering and staging” for Hurricane Irma, Gov. Rick Scott‘s office announced Thursday night. All state offices also are closed today.
Florida is scrambling to keep up with high demand for gas from people fleeing and preparing for the weekend arrival of powerful and deadly Hurricane Irma.