Where Are Hurricane Irma Evacuations Happening?

UPDATE: Sept. 7, 2017, 8:50 A.M. ET

Mandatory evacuations have been called for Monroe County, Florida, and Broward County, Florida for areas east of Federal Highway.

Evacuations have also been called for Zone A of Miami-Dade County, and barrier islands of Zone B. This includes Key Biscayne and Miami Beach. An evacuation map can be found here via the Miami Herald.

“Irma remains a strong Category 5 hurricane,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez at a press briefing Wednesday night. “Significant weakening is not expected.”

Further south, the Bahamas called for a mandated evacuation Wednesday.

UPDATE: Sept. 6, 2017, 5:00 P.M. ET

Mandatory evacuations have been called for Monroe County and Broward County for areas east of Federal Highway.

Original Story:

As Hurricane Irma gathers strength in the Caribbean and threatens southern Florida, officials have begun to call for evacuations.

Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for Monroe County, Florida, which includes the Florida Keys and the southern most tip of Florida. Over 5,000 active duty military members civilians, contractors and families based at Naval Air Station Key West have also received orders for a mandatory evacuation, according to CNN.

“We’re emphatically telling people you must evacuate,” said the director of Monroe County’s Emergency Operations Center, Martin Senterfitt, to the Washington Post. “You cannot afford to stay on an island with a Category 5 hurricane coming at you.”

Irma has reached Category 5 strength, the highest on the scale, with winds of over 180 miles per hour.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have canceled school for Thursday and Friday.

Miami-Dade could order evacuations as early as Wednesday. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez has already called for special needs residents to evacuate.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) anticipates the hurricane reaching Florida by Saturday or Sunday, but the exact path of the storm is not yet known.

President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration for the state Tuesday, at the urging of Governor Rick Scott. Florida’s entire National Guard force of 7,000 was activated by Scott, and told to report for duty Friday morning.

“Everybody is looking at Irma as a Cat 5 but there's so much uncertainty. It could go up to the East Coast, the West Coast or the Keys. Don’t focus on the track, or the skinny black line, focus on the impacts,” said Craig Fugate, former FEMA director to the Miami Herald, Wednesday.

“If you’ve got your plan, you’ve got the supplies, heed the evacuation and take your pets with you. Drive tens of miles away, not hundreds. And remember, more people worry about wind in South Florida than they do about water when water is the biggest killer — the storm surge and flooding. And Irma is a much bigger storm.”