Pasco County Issues Voluntary Evacuation Ahead Of Hurricane Irma

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — As Category 5 Hurricane Irma makes its way toward Florida, Pasco County has issued a voluntary evacuation order. All residents who live west of U.S. 19 are being asked to leave. The order also affects those in other low-lying areas, people with special needs and residents who live in manufactured homes.

“Pasco County government is recommending voluntary evacuation for certain residents of Pasco County as high winds are expected across the county and potential storm surge may occur along the county’s Gulf coast,” a Thursday evening email from Tambrey Laine, Pasco’s spokeswoman, said. (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.)

Residents who are unsure of their evacuation zones can check on the county’s map online.

“Evacuees should first consider riding out the storm with family or friends,” Laine said. “If that is not an option, citizens can evacuate directly to a Pasco County Hurricane Shelter.”

Watch: New Track Has Irma Directly Hitting South Florida

A full list of shelters is available on the county’s website. The county plans to open five shelters at 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 8.

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By 5 p.m. Thursday, Irma was located about 40 miles south of Grand Turk Island. The Category 5 storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 175 mph while moving west-northwest at 16 mph.

On its current projected path, Hurricane Irma is expected to pass by Cuba on Friday and Saturday with the potential for landfall in south Florida on Sunday. As of the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. Sept. 7 update, almost the entire peninsula of Florida remained in the storm’s possible path.

Hurricane-force winds extended out from Irma by 70 miles Thursday. Tropical storm-force winds extended out 185 miles. Forecasters say, “some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a powerful Category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days.” The storm has been blamed for at least 10 deaths in the Caribbean.

Graphic courtesy of the National Hurricane Center