Michael to hit Florida as ‘major hurricane’
Print Edition
Hurricane Michael strengthened to a Category 2 storm yesterday as it headed for the Florida Panhandle, where residents were ordered to get out of harm’s way ahead of life-threatening waves, winds and rains.
Tens of thousands of people were told to evacuate the coastal areas in nine counties as the storm moved over the Gulf of Mexico, carrying winds of 160 kilometers per hour and disrupting oil production.
Michael could grow to a Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale before it makes landfall Wednesday, US time, forecasters said, potentially the most powerful storm to strike the Panhandle in at least a decade.
“Hurricane Michael is a monster storm and it keeps getting more dangerous. We’re 12 hours away from seeing impacts,” Florida Governor Rick Scott said.
He warned of potential deadly impacts from a storm surge that could be as much as 3.7 meters over normal sea water levels, and winds that could rise to 177 kilometers per hour.
As Michael moved over open water, energy companies halted nearly one-fifth of Gulf of Mexico oil production and evacuated personnel from 10 platforms on Monday.
The storm was forecast to make landfall somewhere over the Florida Panhandle or Florida Big Bend area on Wednesday.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
