Florida governor on Hurricane Irma: ‘It’s a killer’

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) warned on Saturday that Hurricane Irma is going to have “a big impact” on the state, calling it a “killer.”

“People are going to shelters, but I just want to make sure everybody understands this is an unbelievable, massive, destructive storm, and it’s a killer,” he said on “CBS This Morning.”

Florida residents and visitors are bracing for the massive Category 4 hurricane bearing down on the state. The storm is expected to make landfall early Sunday, bringing winds well over 100 miles per hour and dangerous water levels.

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Evacuation orders have been issued across vast swaths of south and central Florida; gas, bottled water and plywood – used for boarding up windows – grew scarce ahead of the storm; and traffic stood still at times, as people fled the state’s coastal towns and cities.

“This is going to impact both of our coasts. This is a big, big, big storm,” Scott said. “But the storm surge is what really scares me.”

Earlier this week, Hurricane Irma, then an even-more-powerful Category 5 storm, tore through the Caribbean, demolishing islands, like St. Martin and Barbuda. Those islands must now prepare for another storm, Hurricane Jose. Irma has left at least 22 people dead.

Local, state and federal officials have been warning Florida residents for days about the threat posed by Irma, and have urged residents who often shrug off hurricanes to seek shelter inland. 

On Tuesday, President Trump approved an emergency declaration for Florida, a move that authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to begin coordinating disaster relief efforts.