Even before Hurricane Hermine broke at 11 p.m. and roared over Florida's northern Gulf Coast Thursday, residents ensured that they stored provisions, as conditions took a turn for the worse. Many of the locals raced to ground at higher levels before the storm lashed over the state.
Florida is located about 70 kms south-southeast of Apalachicola, Florida.
Hermine was dubbed as a Category 1 hurricane at about 1:30 a.m. Friday, making landfall in the eastern part of St. Marks in the Tallahassee area. The winds it carried with it roared at 80 miles per hour, reported the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.
"Hurricane Hermine is strengthening fast and it will impact the majority of our state," Florida Governor Rick Scott said in a late-evening bulletin.
The winds ripped apart the area on Thursday night, even as winds rose by 65 kmh. The rains continued to pour, leading to blackouts for the residents in a number of coastal communities.
Hermine has lashed the city after Wilma in 2005, and made a landfall in Florida. It threatened the states on Labor Day weekend along the northern Atlantic Coast, which harbors tens of millions of people.
Over 70,000 Tallahassee citizens had no power, "which may not be restored for days," said the Tallahassee Democrat. Even along the coast, there were thousands that were left powerless. A number of citizens posted pictures of damaged trees on social media.
Said Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday, "This is a life-threatening situation. It's going to be a lot of risk. Right now, I want everybody to be safe."
"On the forecast track, the center of Hermine should move farther inland across the eastern Florida Panhandle into southeastern Georgia later today," the National Hurricane Center's website said at 2 a.m. Friday. "The center of Hermine should then move near or over eastern South Carolina tonight and near or over eastern North Carolina on Saturday."
