About 5.6 million residents of the US state of Florida were notified of mandatory evacuation in connection with the approach of a powerful hurricane "Irma". Governor Rick Scott on Friday, September 8, at a press conference warned that the danger should not be underestimated.

"If you are ordered to leave your homes, you must do this immediately. Not tonight, not an hour later - immediately, "he stressed..

According to Scott, "Irma" is more powerful than the hurricane "Andrew" that hit Florida in 1992. It was one of the most destructive in the history of meteorological observations in the United States and led to damage, which at the time was estimated at between $ 26.5 billion and $ 34 billion.

The US National Center for Hurricane Surveillance warned that the Florida Keys, where several national parks and tourist resorts are popular among tourists, can threaten serious flooding.

According to Erik Silaji, head of Florida Power and Light Co. , power outages due to the impact of the elements can leave without light about nine million people.

Hurricane "Irma" - the most powerful of the raging in the Atlantic Ocean for the whole history of observations. It led to disastrous consequences in the Caribbean region. On the island of Barbuda, 95 per cent of the property was destroyed, including 30 per cent entirely. Approximately the same situation - in the French part of Saint-Martin.

There is no drinking water, power supply is interrupted. In total, over 20 people became victims of the disaster.

Hurricane was awarded the highest fifth power category. The speed of individual gusts reaches 257 kilometers per hour. Irma has already led to flooding in the northeast of Cuba, where the wave height reached six meters, and continues along the northern tip of the island. On Florida, a hurricane can crash in the evening on Saturday, September 9.