Tropical Storm Nicole will hit Florida as a hurricane; schools are ordered closed

Florida Preparations have begun this Tuesday for the arrival of Nicole, a storm with the potential to become a hurricane and that is expected to reach the southeast coast on Wednesday night, and then move through the center and north of this southern state of the United States, and I then continued through Georgia.

In a press conference, the mayor of the southern county of BrowardMichael Udine, announced a declaration of local emergency, which came into force at noon today, although no evacuation order will be issued at the moment.

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Although the international airport of Fort Lauderdale, in Broward, continues today in full operation, the port Port Evergladesin the same county and where many cruise ships dock, is under “Yankee” condition, meaning hurricane-force winds are expected within the next 24 hours.

Equally, In the coastal city of Fort Lauderdale, authorities hand out sandbags to low-lying residents.

The National Metereological Service has warned that residents on the east coast of Florida You can expect higher-than-normal tides, wind gusts, storm surge, possible tornado activity, heavy rain, and some flooding in coastal and low-lying areas.

The path of Tropical Storm Nicole. (EFE).

It is because of that Miami-Dade County has closed all drawbridges over the Miami River as of today and opened the floodgates of hundreds of canals to lower the water level before Nicole’s arrival.

“The arrival of the subtropical storm Nicolecoinciding with the high tide season, means a higher risk of flooding in our community, especially in low-lying areas”, Miami-Dade Mayor Danielle Levine Cava said at a press conference.

According to local authorities, the closure of drawbridges is a measure that is usually taken when winds of more than 39 miles per hour (62 km / h) are expected.

For your partthe South Florida Water Management District said they have already opened gates to lower the water level in the canals.

“We are in that process because it is important to do it before the storm. You don’t have time if the storm is on top of you.” said Randy Smith, a spokesman for the entity.

Smith added that it is about opening to relieve the volume of water, but then closing the gates so that the possible high tide does not go inland.

While, in Palm Beach, north of Broward, public schools announced they will close Wednesday and Thursday due to the storm, as were schools in Pasco County, in the southwestern part of the state.

Public school districts in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe (where the South Florida Keys are located) have not yet announced whether they will close schools.

This Tuesday, most public schools do not have classes and many serve as voting centers in the elections mid-term held at the national level.

Nicole started to get stronger today as it moves towards the islands of the northwestern part of the Bahamas and the east coast of Floridawhere it will arrive this Wednesday with hurricane force.

Nicolewhich has changed from a subtropical storm to a tropical one, has maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (95 km/h) and is moving west at 9 mph (15 km/h).

The authorities of Florida (USA.) declared a state of emergency in 34 counties on Monday before the foreseeable impact of the subtropical storm Nicole, which is expected to begin to be felt as of Wednesday night.

The Governor of FloridaRon DeSantis, signed an executive order on Monday that, as a precautionary measure, declares a state of emergency in that group of counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, Saint Lucie, Indian River and others. over the east coast, where Nicole is expected to hit.

Nicole will reach one Florida that recovery work is still continuing after the destructive passage of Hurricane Ian, which on September 28 reached the southwest coast of this state and left 130 dead, according to official accounting.

Source: Elcomercio