Hurricane Irma 'will cover your house', Florida residents warned
The US is already feeling the effects of the deadly storm, which has led to a prison escape and looting across Caribbean islands.
Sunday 10 September 2017 00:40, UK
More than 20,000 people in Florida have already lost electricity as the outer bands of Hurricane Irma batter southern parts of the state.
Governor Rick Scott said the storm surge was likely to be between six and 12 feet (two and four metres) in some areas.
"This will cover your house," he said. "This is a deadly storm and our state has never seen anything like it."
Florida's entire west coast was likely to see dangerous effects from the surge, Governor Scott added.
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Irma was downgraded to category three on Saturday, but still had wind speeds of 125mph.
The deadly storm has already wreaked havoc in the Caribbean, where it killed at least 27 people, and caused significant damage to Cuba on Saturday.
Amid the devastation, Sky Sources understand between 100-120 prisoners have escaped from a jail on the British Virgin Islands after it was partially destroyed by Hurricane Irma.
France has also boosted its police presence on the islands of St Barts and St Martin as local officials struggle to control looting.
The bill for loss and damage could hit $120billion (£91billion) in the US and Caribbean, according to data modelling firm Enki Research.
Irma is expected to strengthen again as it moves over warm open water on its approach to the southern US.
"You don't want to play with this thing," Senator Marco Rubio said as he visited the Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Centre.
"People will die from this."
The eye of the storm is predicted to hit southwest Florida and Tampa sometime on Sunday, America's National Hurricane Centre said.
The whole state, however, is likely to feel its effects.
While Miami is not expected to get Irma's core, the city will still experience life-threatening conditions.
A curfew and a state of emergency have been declared in the local area.
In total, about 6.3 million Florida residents have been urged to evacuate.
Approximately 51,000 residents have taken refuge in around 300 shelters - mostly in southeast Florida.
Sky News US Correspondent Cordelia Lynch, who is in the Florida Keys where Hurricane Irma is expected to make landfall first, said people appeared to be taking evacuation warnings seriously.
The only road into the area, the Overseas Highway, was "practically empty", she said.
Major tourist attractions, including Universal Studios and Sea World, have been making preparations to close.
Fort Lauderdale and Miami airports shut down, while those in Orlando and Tampa were planning to follow later in the day.
In the Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda were described as breathing a national "sigh of relief" as Hurricane Jose moved away from the northern Leeward Islands on Saturday.
The archipelago also includes Saint Martin and Anguilla, which - along with Antigua and Barbuda - have already been devastated by Hurricane Irma.
As category four storm Jose moved away - travelling 95 miles east north-east of the northern Leeward Islands - all hurricane warnings in the region were downgraded to lesser alerts by the US National Hurricane Centre.
At Gatwick airport, hundreds of passengers were returning on flights from the Caribbean.
Thanai Caesar, 23, was visiting family in Antigua with her friend Rochelle Fyffe, also 23, when Hurricane Irma hit.
It was like "being in a nightmare", Rochelle said. "It was just horrible."