An eye witness report by
Hans Izaak Kriek*
A week before the landfall of this awful lady I’m confronted with ‘her’. Going to one of the supermarkets in my County, Palm Beach Florida. I saw empty shelves of water and food. I don’t realise what’s going on and ask people about it. It was because of the arrival of Hurricane Irma. Prices became higher, especially of the gasoline. Later I saw long rows of cars waiting to refuel. For me it was the first time seeing how people react on this phenomenon of a big hurricane.
Going home I installed all my equipment to follow what would come, local news channels and also the national. I watched Florida Governor Rick Scott in the news, he told his viewers that hurricane Irma was a nuclear hurricane. He gave an evacuation order to 5,6 million Floridians to leave their homes to escape the wrath of Hurricane Irma. At least one of them has a mansion to evacuate, Rick Scott himself. The state’s chief executive moved his family from hurricane zone in Naples to the state-funded governor’s mansion in Tallahassee.
For my friends in Europe I started to make video presentations to tell them what was going on and how my wife and I were doing. Radio news channels of The Netherlands called me, one of the questions was every time why we don’t leave Florida. I told them that we couldn’t go away because the mainroads were packed with cars from people leaving their homes and there wasn’t any possibility to get flight tickets. We decided to stay home because our house was said to be hurricane proof. Anyway, we have enough food and water in our refrigerator to stay for as long as necessary.
Sunday was the big day: the arrival of Irma in Florida Keys.
The headlines in the news:
Storms hits west coast of Florida – Hurricane drains bay in Florida Keys – Two-thirds of Florida without power – Hurricane path of destruction – National Guards mobilised of other states for assist Florida – Irma leaves devastation, flooding in Florida
Hurricane Irma is responsible for six dead in Florida, destroying homes and complete landscapes. Governor Rick Scott declared the state of emergency and president Donald Trump promised to give all the help needed, especially extra money. Days after Irma began her assault on the Caribbean and southern Florida, Irma was still churning north on Monday, causing fresh damage in areas where many Floridians had sought refuge over the weekend.
The massive storm’s rain bands reached out hundreds of miles beyond its center, wreaking havoc throughout much of Georgia and South Carolina on Monday. Storm surges were made worse by an unlucky coincidence that prompted flash flooding: Irma’s effects had arrived at high tide.
Hurricane Irma brought devastating winds and flooding to Florida as it swept across the state. But as the powerful storm begins to fade, CBS Miami reports it's leaving a new problem for the millions of impacted Floridians: dangerous wildlife.
The Florida Department of Health sent out a tweet Monday morning urging residents to be on the lookout for snakes and alligators that Irma may have "displaced."
*Hans Izaak Kriek is international political commentator for European Business Review and editor-in-chief of Kriek Media
By: N. Peter Kramer
