( The Hurricane News Report On Hurricane Harvey And Hurricane Irma ) Patcnews Aug 19, 2017 The Patriot Conservative Tea Party Network Reports Hurricane Harvey And Hurricane Irma © All copyrights reserved By Patcnews

Hurricane Irma Makes First Landfall in Caribbean ‘Potentially catastrophic’ Category 5 storm is one of the strongest ever recorded in Atlantic Hurricane Irma: What You Need To Know As Hurricane Irma approaches the U.S., here's what you need to know about one of the strongest storms to hit the Atlantic Ocean. Photo: NOAA By Jon Kamp and Scott Calvert Updated Sept. 6, 2017 4:28 p.m. ET 103 COMMENTS Hurricane Irma walloped several islands in the northeast Caribbean early Wednesday after growing into one of the most powerful storms ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean, and as officials in Florida pressed residents to follow calls for evacuations. The “potentially catastrophic” storm packed maximum-sustained winds of 185 miles an hour, making it a Category 5 hurricane and one of the five strongest ever recorded in the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest forecast. The center said it was still too soon to forecast the timing and magnitude of a potential Florida hit. “The chance of direct impacts from Irma beginning later this week and this weekend from wind, storm surge, and rainfall continues to increase in the Florida Keys and portions of the Florida Peninsula,” the center said. Video From St. Martin Video recorded on Sept. 6 shows Hurricane Irma’s strong winds ripping through Maho Beach on the island of St Martin in the Caribbean. Florida Gov. Rick Scott called the storm “extremely dangerous and deadly” and warned that Irma could hit the state even harder than Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane that slammed into South Florida in 1992. “This storm has the potential to devastate our state, and you have to take this very seriously,” he said Wednesday. Authorities also advised there could be a storm impact in Georgia and South Carolina. The storm’s center made landfall over the island of Barbuda early Wednesday, the hurricane center said, and passed over St. Martin, where video posted online showed submerged cars and flooded buildings. The storm was recently about 65 miles from St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 140 miles from Puerto Rico. Communication with Barbuda was impossible in the immediate wake of the storm. “All that we heard earlier is that people lost some roofs and that sort of thing,” said Claudette Thomas, 56 years old, general manager of the Barbuda Belle Luxury Beach Hotel. Speaking by phone from Antigua, which is a 15-minute flight or 90-minute ferry ride away, Ms. Thomas said that island was “perfect. We didn’t even get any amount of rain.” Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, which make up an independent commonwealth, said on Facebook that Antigua suffered no fatalities and that damage on the island was light. According to a tweet from French authorities in the island region of Guadeloupe, the St. Martin administrative offices had been partially destroyed and the local prefect and 23 other people are taking refuge in a concrete reinforced room. On the island of St. Barthélemy, the firehouse was under 3 feet of water, with the firefighters taking refuge on the floor above. Both islands have lost power. Hurricane Irma approaching the U.S. Hurricane Irma approaching the U.S. Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration New hurricane warnings extended to the northern coast of Haiti as Irma’s forecast track called for a dangerously close approach near Puerto Rico and the island of Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Civil defense officials in the Dominican Republic said Irma was on track to pass overnight Wednesday some 30 to 60 miles to the north. There have been some evacuations, the officials said in a news conference, but no evacuees have gone to the island’s several thousand shelters. President Donald Trump late Tuesday approved emergency declarations for Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, moves that can hasten preparations and federal assistance. “It looks like it could be something that will be not good. Believe me, not good,” he said Wednesday at the White House. Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló on Twitter Wednesday urged residents to evaluate their situation and go to shelters if necessary. Already, 700 people had gone to shelters, he said. “There is no reason for being in the street,” he said in a tweet. Gov. Scott asked Florida’s roughly 20 million residents to stock up on supplies and urged residents to make evacuation plans. He said the state is working to make it easier for heavy trucks to travel the highways and keep provisions stocked, citing fuel shortages in the Florida Keys and empty supermarket shelves. He also activated 1,000 national-guard members in the state and directed the remaining 6,000 guard members in the state to report for duty Friday morning. Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, issued a mandatory evacuation starting 7 a.m. ET Wednesday for all visitors and tourists, and 7 p.m. ET for all residents. Schools there closed starting Wednesday, and local hospitals started making plans to evacuate patients. In Key West, staff at the 142-room Pier House Resort & Spa hurried Wednesday morning to get remaining guests to the local airport before most flights out ended around 1 p.m., said front-desk supervisor Robert Ryker. About 10 rooms were still occupied by late morning. “The overall feeling is we’re calm right now. It’s a couple days out still,” he said. “Of course tourists are a little stressed out because flights and everything have been messed up.” Workers were making plans to leave after shutting down the hotel. Mr. Ryker said he would drive overnight to Jacksonville, betting that traffic on U.S. 1—the only road to mainland Florida—would ease at that hour. Carlos Gimenez, mayor of Miami-Dade County, said the county would begin evacuating special-needs residents Wednesday and may issue a broader evacuation order. County offices and schools were closed there on Thursday and Friday. The City of Miami warned that the 20 to 25 tower construction cranes dotting the city’s skyline aren’t designed to withstand winds above 145 miles an hour, but take too long to dismantle. Maurice Pons, deputy director in the city’s building department, advised against staying in a building next to construction cranes in a storm like Irma, the city said. Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine made a personal appeal Tuesday for residents and tourists to leave the island as soon as they could, in advance of what he expects would be a mandatory evacuation order from the county. The mayor said there are few roadways on and off the island, and he wanted to minimize congestion. Men cover the windows of a car parts store in preparation for Hurricane Irma in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Men cover the windows of a car parts store in preparation for Hurricane Irma in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photo: alvin baez/Reuters The threatening storm caused cruise lines to cancel and divert sailings in the popular Caribbean. Airlines on Tuesday were canceling flights in the region and offering waivers to passengers in Florida. Irma is forecast to dump up to a foot of rain in the northern Leeward Islands, with isolated instances of 20 inches. Rainfall of 4 inches to 10 inches is expected in northeast Puerto Rico and the British and U.S. Virgin Islands. The rainfall could trigger life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, the NHC warned. The Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas could see storm surges of 15 to 20 feet, as well as large, destructive waves, forecasters said. While Irma churns toward population centers, forecasters are also monitoring Tropical Storm Jose, a newly formed storm in the more distant Atlantic. It is expected to become a hurricane on Wednesday, the hurricane center said.