Aug. 25, 2012 • 8 a.m.
Hurricane Warning Up for Florida Keys;
Officials Urge Visitors to Leave Keys if They Have Means to Do So
Please download attached PDF for full advisory.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami has issued a hurricane warning for all the Florida Keys. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions, with winds 74 mph and above, are expected in the next 24-36 hours.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami has issued a hurricane warning for all the Florida Keys. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions, with winds 74 mph and above, are expected in the next 24-36 hours.
Monroe County Emergency Management officials are urging visitors to leave the Keys if they have the means to do so safely. For those that can’t, officials are directing them to stay inside during the storm.
Emergency officials are preparing to respond to a minimal Category 1 hurricane and numerous hotels throughout the Keys are are built to safely accommodate people in storms that are even more powerful.
“If you choose to remain in the Florida Keys during this storm, the only safe place for you to be is inside,” said Irene Toner, emergency management director. “Our goal here is to keep everyone safe.”
As a last resort, visitors are welcome to stay at Monroe County’s storm shelters that are to open Saturday at 2 p.m. Those facilities include Key West High School at 2100 Flagler Ave.; Stanley Switlik School, at mile marker 48 in Marathon and Coral Shores High School at mile marker 90 in Islamorada. Shelters are safe havens, but those go there must bring their own supplies, including bedding, food and medicine. Keys shelters are pet friendly, but if you bring your pet with you, it will be housed in a separate area.
Toner stressed that there was ample time for visitors to leave the Keys in a calm and orderly manner, but urged them to be out before Saturday night as weather conditions are projected to become extremely hazardous beginning early Sunday morning.
There are no commercial airline seats available out of Key West International Airport, according to Peter Horton, county airports director, adding that no commercial flights will operate Sunday and likely not Monday as well.
Monroe County’s Emergency Information line at 1-800-955-5504 is to be activated this morning and the Florida Keys tourism council’s multilingual visitor assistance line is available at 1-800-771-KEYS.
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