Florida extends hurricane evacuation orders to Miami
Florida evacuation orders have been widened to include Miami Beach and other low-lying parts of Miami-Dade as Hurricane Irma approaches.
Evacuation in the Florida Keys was already underway as Florida’s governor Rick Scott warned that Irma would be ‘bigger, faster and stronger’ than Hurricane Andrew, which devastated the Sunshine State 25 years ago.
Hotels have closed and are cancelling forward reservations until the middle of next week.
British Airways has re-timed its flight BA2168 today from Fort Lauderdale to London Gatwick to an earlier departure to help get tourists home.
"We are currently working through our schedule but flights between London Heathrow and Miami on Friday 8 September, Saturday 9 September and Sunday 10 September may be subject to cancellations. Please keep checking ba.com for the latest information on your flight," it told passengers.
Flights between London Gatwick and Tampa are currently operating as normal, but will continue to be kept under review, BA added.
Thomas Cook said its Manchester-Miami flight will operate tomorrow (Friday) as planned but all customers on a package holiday can switch to another destination or get a full refund, as no accommodation will be available.
The latest evacuation orders cover other tourist hotspots such as Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, and Key Biscayne and affects more than 100,000 residents.
Highway tolls have been waived across the State to help people travel more quickly.
"This is serious and we cannot take chances," warned Scott in a press conference. "Every Floridian should take this seriously."
Mandatory evacuation orders have also been issued in Monroe Counties and voluntary evacuation orders have been issued in Broward and Collier Counties.
Additional orders are expected as the storm nears the state.
Visit Florida has posted advice for tourists on its website and, through its partnership with Expedia, has activated a special page to help visitors, residents and first responders find accommodation.
Virgin Atlantic is ‘strongly encouraging’ customers in Orlando who are booked to return on September 10 or 11 to switch to tomorrow or Saturday.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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