In Florida, freeways jammed with cars Thursday and Friday as officials ordered the evacuation of more than a half-million people—one the largest evacuations in U.S. history. Irma’s eye is projected to strike South Florida early Sunday morning as a Category 4 storm, delivering storm surges of 10 feet or higher. In Miami Beach, which averages three feet above sea level, Mayor Philip Levine told a local CBS reporter that Irma is an existential threat.
Hank Tester: “We’ve talked to people in your city who say, 'We ain't going.’”
Mayor Philip Levine: “Well, I hate to hear that. And I’m going to do everything in my power to convince them that this is a very serious storm. This is a nuclear hurricane. They should leave the beach. They must leave the beach.”
The National Weather Service warns of likely structural damage to even sturdy buildings, with the complete destruction of mobile homes likely.