SALT LAKE CITY — The entire state of Florida is now under a state of emergency as Hurricane Dorian barrels toward the Sunshine State.
The hurricane could slam into Florida as early as Monday as a Category 4 storm.
“It’s going to impact the entirety of Florida, and residents need to be prepared,” Acting FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor told CNN. “So, take the time now ... to understand what your local risk is.”
“The clock is ticking right now,” he added. “Don’t waste time. Prepare yourself and your family.”
Dorian is currently a Category 2 hurricane with winds hovering around 110 miles per hour, which is literally 1 mile shy of becoming a Category 3 storm. The storm will likely pick up speed and intensity over the next few days, which could lead to increased wind speeds, heavy rainfall and a storm surge, which puts Florida in immediate danger, according to CNN.
Florida Gov. Rick DeSantis said the early warning is good and bad news for the state.
“Floridians need to be prepared,” DeSantis said, according to The Orlando Sentinel. “The bad news of the storm going slower is that that could potentially have some negative impacts once it reaches landfall, but you do have time before it reaches to prepare if you have not done so.”
DeSantis said he will give local officials until Friday to decide whether they will have voluntary or mandatory evacuations. Right now, 2,000 Florida National Guard members are helping prepare for the storm. That number will likely jump to 4,000 by Saturday, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
On Thursday, Floridians and social media members in general had mixed emotions about Hurricane Dorian. Those who saw it as only a Category 2 storm reacted indifferently, while those who learned of the Category 4 reacted with fear, according to the Deseret News.
President Donald Trump canceled a trip to Poland so that he could stay in the country for the storm. He said the storm will “hit very hard” and “be very big,” according to The Washington Post.
“The winds seem to be building at a tremendous rate. It looks like winds are going to be unbelievably high,” Trump said in a video posted to Twitter. “Hopefully we’ll get lucky, but it looks to me that this time it’s heading in one direction, all indications are it’s going to hit very hard and it’s going to be very big.”