THE TIMELINE OF HURRICANE IRMAThe 2017 hurricane season has been a tumultuous one, robbing thousands of Americans and people living in the Caribbean of food, water, shelter and power for days and weeks at a time. Hurricane Irma was one of the largest tragedies, running up through Florida, wreaking havoc and bringing immense floodwaters that devastated many cities. Continue reading to see the timeline of events of this massive storm.

THE STORM BUILDS

Irma brews in the Atlantic on August 30.1 Over the next several days, it becomes the strongest hurricane ever recorded on the open Atlantic, with 185 mile-per-hour winds. Irma then sweeps across Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Martin, Saint Barthemely, Anguilla, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and Turks and Caicos. Six and a half million people are asked to evacuate Florida,2 but many choose to hunker down instead of leaving their homes.

1 https://www.weather.gov/tae/Irma_technical_summary2 http://www.npr.org/2017/09/09/549802448/one-third-of-florida-residents-told-to-evacuate-before-hurricane-irma-makes-land

LANDFALL IN FLORIDA

Irma hits the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. on Sunday, September 10 as a Category 4 storm with winds raging at 130 miles per hour.3 The hurricane development is broadcast live on every major news network as the wind and rain begins its assault on Floridian homes. It continues traveling north across the state, followed by a storm surge in some areas. Eventually, a weakened Irma also affects Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama.

3 https://www.weather.gov/tae/Irma2017

THE IMMEDIATE IMPACT

In the immediate aftermath, 60 percent of Floridians are left without power.4 Additional curfews are put in place, including in Miami-Dade, to facilitate the cleanup process. People try to return home, but those looking to come back to the Keys are turned away for safety reasons. Floodwaters and debris pose a significant threat of contamination or electrocution to the victims.

4 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41175312

COSTLY CLEANUP

After the immediate threat to human lives, officials begin to assess the monetary damages of Irma. Many speculate the combined damage of Harvey and Irma will be comparable to the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe that annihilated New Orleans. Many victims make use of FEMA assistance during the recovery process, and donations start to come in from throughout the country. First responders continue to remove debris as quickly as possible to return life to at least a semblance of normalcy.

HURRICANE SEASON CONTINUES

Before the world can catch its breath, hurricane Maria sweeps across the Caribbean, following on Irma’s heels. Maria strikes Puerto Rico, causing massive structural damage and power outages throughout the island. With limited access to drinking water, shelter and electricity, thousands of hurricane victims flee to Florida for safety, adding to the toll of this hurricane season.5

5 http://www.npr.org/2017/10/13/557108484/-get-us-out-of-here-amid-broken-infrastructure-puerto-ricans-flee-to-florida

WILDER RV RESORTLike many places in Florida, some of the Wilder RV Resorts were affected by Irma and the flooding that followed. However, we persisted through the storm and continue to welcome residents in the surrounding area to our RV resorts. If you would like more information about our residences, please contact us online.