Israel Warns Its Citizens in Florida: Get Out Of Irma’s Way

TEL AVIV – Israel has warned its citizens currently in areas of Florida threatened by Hurricane Irma to evacuate, the Foreign Ministry said.  

Israeli tourists in the coastal areas of the Dominican Republic were also instructed to evacuate the area and head for the capital Santo Domingo to wait for the storm to pass.

The hurricane, the worst storm since 2005’s Rita with winds of 185 mph, hit a series of Caribbean islands including Barbuda, St Martin and Anguilla before hurtling towards the Virgin Islands Wednesday.

MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel warned that Irma is “big and intense” and that if emergency workers “tell you to get out, get out,” he said.

In the Florida Keys, officials have instructed both tourists and residents to evacuate.

In other parts of the state, schools have been shut down.

According to the hurricane center, Irma is predicted to go towards islands in the southeastern Bahamas. The storm’s center will likely pass near Puerto Rico later on Wednesday, It is not clear yet whether Florida will be hit. However, Gov. Rick Scott said residents must follow evacuation orders as instructed.

“(A) storm surge could cover your house. We can rebuild homes — we cannot rebuild your family,” he said Wednesday, adding that President Donald Trump had “offered the full resources of the federal government.”

“Learn your evacuation zone. Listen to your locals,” he said. “This storm has the potential to devastate this state. You have to take this seriously.”