Pasco County Expands Mandatory Evacuation Ahead Of Irma

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — With the Tampa Bay area now under a hurricane warning, Pasco County expanded its mandatory evacuation order for some residents.

The order enacted on Saturday affects residents who live:

• North of State Road 52 and west of Hicks Road
• North of Kitten Trail to the intersection of Dennis Road; west of Dennis Road, following a northern line to include homes west of Gopher Hills and West of Thomas Boulevard and then north to County Line Road.

The county's initial evacuation order went into place late Friday morning as Irma’s projected path continued on a course toward the Tampa Bay area. That order, which still stands, affects all residents who live west of U.S. 19. It also includes residents who live north of Fox Hollow Drive and west of Little Road. In addition, mandatory evacuations are in place for special-needs residents, people who live in manufactured and mobile homes and RV dwellers. Anyone who lives in a low-lying or flood-prone area is also under the order. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from New Port Richey Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Watch: FEMA Tells Floridians In Irma's Path To 'Get Out Now'

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The Pasco County Sheriff's Office estimates more than 100,000 people were affected by the original order. The agency also warns those who have been asked to evacuate to do so. "There will (come) a point during this storm where rescue will not be possible," the sheriff's office tweeted Friday morning.

Pasco County's shelters opened at 11 a.m. Friday to serve evacuees. People who need shelter are asked to bring their identification cards, money and any medicine they might require.

• See also: Hurricane Irma: Pasco County Opening Shelters

By 2 p.m. Saturday, Irma, the behemoth that tore through the Caribbean, leaving at least 20 people dead in its wake, was packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. Irma was located about 145 southeast of Key West, moving west at 9 mph.

The hurricane warning for the Gulf Coast was extended Saturday morning to run from the tip of the state north to the Aucilla River Hurricane warnings mean that hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area within the next 36 hours. The storm surge warning for the west coast extended from the southern tip of the peninsula to Ochlockonee River. Storm surge warnings mean storm surges are anticipated within the warning area over the next 36 hours.

On its current projected path, Irma is expected to clear the northern Cuban coastline on Saturday and make landfall in Florida sometime Sunday.

The hurricane is expected to be near the southwest coast of Florida Sunday afternoon," the hurricane center wrote Saturday morning.

Although weakened somewhat, hurricane center forecasters warn that Irma remains a powerful storm. The current projections show Irma retaining major hurricane status after clearing the Tampa Bay area on Monday.

"Irma is forecast to restrengthen once it moves away from Cuba, and Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches Florida," the hurricane center warned in its 2 p.m. Saturday update.

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