Florida authorities have issued evacuation orders and arranged up to 15 shelters, especially in southeastern counties, before the expected impact tonight or early Thursday from Tropical Storm Nicole.
In a press conference, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, who won re-election on Tuesday, announced today that Nicole is expected to reach the southeast coast of Florida as a category 1 hurricane, out of a maximum of five on the Saffir scale. Simpson, and alerted the population to remain vigilant.
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The imminent impact of Nicole in Florida has motivated the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to sign an emergency declaration for this state, which means more federal funds to help in the work before and after the arrival of the cyclone.
DeSantis said some 16,000 workers are ready to jump on the ground when the cyclone passes to restore power if there are outages as a result of the cyclone, which follows the destructive Hurricane Ian in September.
The governor, who on Monday declared a state of emergency in 34 counties, said seven search and rescue teams are also ready and generally have the resources to deal with Nicole, which this morning has maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).
At his side, the director of the Florida Department of Emergencies, Kevin Guthrie, warned that Nicole will be felt throughout the state and there are warnings of strong winds, heavy rains and rising tides in parts of the coast.
The official asked the population of the entire state to remain alert to the possibility of tornadoes.
EVACUATIONS AND CLOSURES
Residents on the barrier islands of southern Flagler, Palm Beach and Volusia counties are under evacuation orders.
According to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), at 3:00 p.m. GMT the storm was 25 miles (40 km) east-northeast of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas on its way to the east coast of Florida.
It is moving about 12 miles (19 km/h) to the west and its center is expected to approach or pass over the northwestern islands of the Bahamas and tonight be near the east coast of Florida, where it will make landfall in some point between Boca Raton and the line between Flagler and Volusia counties, further north.
Nicole will then cross central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday and continue through the Carolinas on Friday.
The Orlando airports, in the center of the state, and Palm Beach, in the southeast, remain closed this Wednesday, while further south, at the Fort Lauderdale airport, around 10 am today, local time. (15.00 GMT) more than 20 flights were canceled and another 37 delayed.
According to the governor, at least seven school districts, including Miami-Dade, the one with the largest student population in the state, have suspended classes because of Nicole and more are expected to join Thursday, when the storm subsides. move through the rest of the Florida peninsula.
On beaches in Broward County, a neighbor of Miami-Dade County, the strong winds produced by the outer bands of Nicole and the rise in the tide have produced large waves, in addition to flooding portions of the boardwalks, according to the local channel CBS Miami.
One of Nicole’s biggest dangers is storm surge, which can cause sea level rises of up to 5 feet (1.5 meters), according to the NHC.