Hurricane Irma Myths: Why Floridians Are Calling Hurricane Irma 'The Big One'

Floridians have had a nightmare since a long time about a mythic, massive hurricane that would wash off the densely populated southeast coast and they fear that Hurricane Irma could be the "big one," according to a report.

The category 5 storm has created a panic-like situation in the region and according to the latest tracking, it is headed toward South Florida, reports said.

So, why is the Irma creating so much panic? Locals think that Irma would be more aggressive than the Hurricane Andrew that struck in 1992. “I’m nervous, and I never get nervous in storms,” said Jane Llewellyn, a resident of Miami Beach, according to The Washington Post report. Talking about Irma, she said it seemed more "aggressive" than Andrew. "It’s just so massive and it’s just so fast, and it’s just so hot here. It’s going to get worse."

Even the governor said that and urged the locals to get prepared for the hurricane. "This storm is bigger, faster and stronger than Hurricane Andrew,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday, adding that although Irma's trajectory is not certain, officials are still preparing themselves to face the worst as it could have a direct impact on the state.

"Do not sit and wait for the storm to come. It is extremely dangerous and deadly and will cause devastation. Get prepared right now," he said, according to reports.

"It has become more likely that Irma will make landfall in southern Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and bring life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts to much of the state," the National Hurricane Center said Thursday.

The category 5 storm has already killed 11 and caused destruction in islands, including the Leeward and the Virgin Islands as it passed through the Caribbean, reports said.

Irma is likely to be the strongest hurricane to hit South Florida since Andrew which caused heavy damage in the south of Miami and killed 15 people. The hurricane also caused the deaths of 25 more people in Miami-Dade County alone, Orlando Sentinel reported citing the National Hurricane Center.

Experts say that Irma is dangerous as in the past 25 years, both population and assets have increased in Florida and the natural calamity might wreck a havoc on all this. "Florida has not experienced a storm as powerful as Irma for 25 years when Hurricane Andrew tracked east to west across the state killing 65 people and destroying 25,000 homes,” said Dr. Steven Godby, an expert in natural hazards at Nottingham Trent University.

"Population and assets have grown significantly . . . since Andrew, putting more people and property at risk," he added, according to a Financial Times report.

However, some others refuted the myth of Irma being the "big one." For instance, Craig Pittman, an environmental reporter at the Tampa Bay Times and the author of the bestselling book, "Oh, Florida," disputed the myth.

He said hurricanes are just a "fact of life in a state that is hit by the big storms more often than any other state." He also cleared that even if the "big one" was to strike, it would not deter people to visit or continue living in Florida, which is considered a "paradise" by many, according to Orlando Sentinel.

The Internet was filled with several myths and fake news regarding Irma has been circulating. Several news sources on the Internet suggested that Irma is soon going to be a "Category 6" hurricane which apparently doesn't exist. According to the Saffir-Simpson scale of evaluating, hurricane winds can go up to a Category 5 range of 156 mph and beyond, which is enough to cause a lot of destruction, a report said.