these are the live pictures from key west in the south of the state. the hurricane is expected to hit further up florida s west coast. evacuations are underway in 21 counties and residents have been warned to prepare for violent winds, intense rain and a potentially life threatening storm surge. these are the images of the storm from 250 miles above ea rth s surface. the international space station passed over hurricane idalia as the storm churned over the gulf of mexico. it s been moving north and is now a category 2 hurricane that s according to the national hurricane center. that could mean winds of up to 110 miles per hour. but, as ever, it s the storm surge that has the authorities most concerned. this is the situation on the ground. this footage was taken from a sea front hotel in key west.
in the last hour florida governor ron desantis had a message for people in the evacuation zone. you really got to go now, now is the time. you don t, if you stay and hunker down tonight, it s going to be too nasty tomorrow morning to be able to do it. now if you do choose to stay, and one of the evacuation zones, first responders will not be able to get you until after the storm has passed. presidentjoe biden said the state will get whatever help it needs. ~ ., ., needs. we re worried about the ocean surge. needs. we re worried about the ocean surge, we needs. we re worried about the ocean surge, we don t - needs. we re worried about the ocean surge, we don t know - needs. we re worried about the i ocean surge, we don t know what exactly it is, hour to hour we are watching this, i told the governor and the mayor, likely to hit the first, we ll be there as long as they need making sure they have
pray, god turns them around, fizzles them out. we pray, god turns them around, fizzles them out. fizzles them out. we believe this is a safe fizzles them out. we believe this is a safe place fizzles them out. we believe this is a safe place and - fizzles them out. we believe this is a safe place and if - fizzles them out. we believe this is a safe place and if a l this is a safe place and if a hurricane this is a safe place and if a hurricane comes this is a safe place and if a hurricane comes it- this is a safe place and if a hurricane comes it will- this is a safe place and if a| hurricane comes it will still be a hurricane comes it will still be a safe hurricane comes it will still be a safe place hurricane comes it will still be a safe place as - hurricane comes it will stilll be a safe place as anywhere hurricane comes it will still- be a safe place as anywhere in florida be a safe place as anywhere in florida. ., ., ., florida. live now to will our edue, florida.
everything they need. the management everything they need. the management agencies said it s standing ready to support florida in the path of hurricane 10 too. i florida in the path of hurricane 10 too. i know the eo - le hurricane 10 too. i know the peeple of hurricane 10 too. i know the people of florida hurricane 10 too. i know the people of florida are - hurricane 10 too. i know the people of florida are no - people of florida are no strangers to storms, and i urge all floridians to take this storm all floridians to take this storm seriously. very few peorfle storm seriously. very few people can survive being in the path people can survive being in the path of people can survive being in the path of major storm surge, and the storm path of major storm surge, and the storm will be deadly if we don t the storm will be deadly if we don t get the storm will be deadly if we don t get out of the way. some florida residents don t get out of the way. some florida resid
deadly, too. the hurricane katrina which hit louisiana in 2005 reached the coast as a category three storm. the storm left more than 1200 people dead, left 125 billion dollars in damages. at the time it was considered a once in a century storm, but between 2016 and 2018 alone, the us was impacted by six other major hurricanes. what powered katrina and other storms is the heat in the oceans. so as oceans warm, hurricanes gain more energy and become more severe. the result, the scientists say, is that more will reach higher wind speeds and rates of rainfall which can cause catastrophic destruction and widespread flooding as we saw with hurricane harvey. 9 trillion gallons of water fell over the texas coast, hit houston especially hard. tens of