Residents in low-lying areas of Miami-Dade County were under
an evacuation order as of 7 a.m. on Thursday Sept. 7, as South Florida braces
for the impact of Hurricane Irma over the weekend.
A mandatory evacuation is underway for mobile homes and residents
of Miami Beach and a half-dozen coastal towns, including Bal Harbour, Bay
Harbour Islands, Golden Beach, Indian Creek Village, North Bay Village, Sunny
Isles Beach and Surfside.
Key Biscayne and Virginia Key are also covered by the order.
About 150,000 people are affected, reported the Miami Herald.
To the north in Broward County, several evacuation orders
were issued covering barrier islands, mobile homes and areas east of Federal
Highway, which includes big swaths of eastern Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and
Pompano Beach. They take effect at noon on Thursday, Sept. 7.
Ports and airports in both counties remained open as of
mid-morning on Sept. 7. Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale said it expects the
U.S. Coast Guard to issue a 24-hour hurricane alert by noon Friday, and that
the agency would set the timing to close to port to marine traffic "based
on the track of the storm."