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koreaunderground · 4 years ago

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In Okinawa, the US Military Seeks a Base Built on the Bones of the War Dead: Japan is using earth from a battlefield filled with human remains to build the foundation of a US military installation

[thenation.com][1]

[1]: <https://www.thenation.com/article/world/japan-okinawa-henoko/>

# In Okinawa, the US Military Seeks a Base Built on the Bones of the War Dead

By Maia Hibbett

* * *

## In Okinawa, the US Military Seeks a Base Built on the Bones of the War Dead

## Japan is using earth from a battlefield filled with human remains to build the foundation of a US military installation.

February 18, 2021

One Sunday in October, Takamatsu Gushiken dug up a femur. It was one of several exciting finds that fall. By the month’s end, he had uncovered the phalange of a foot, two fibulas, and a lower jaw, too. He rushed to tell the rest of his volunteer group, Gamafuya, which means “cave diggers” in the Okinawan Indigenous language of Uchinaaguchi. The bones confirmed what Gushiken had known all along: There, in a tract of forest in the southern city of Itoman, Okinawa, lay the remains of the victims of World War II.

As November began, Gushiken returned to the site to find the forest had been clear-cut.

“We only work on Sundays,” he told me over Zoom. “When we went to the site on Sunday, November 1, we found that the area of the forest where we were working was gone.” One week after that, Gushiken encountered a “No Trespassing” sign. The site had a new owner, a local gravel and sand company, and a new name, Kumano Mine.

“The company had no contract at all,” Gushiken explained. But local mining outfits had been keeping track of the news. In April 2020, the Japanese Ministry of Defense submitted a revised plan for the construction of a US military base in the bay off the shore of the Henoko district of Nago city, complementing the existing Marine Corps base Camp Schwab. The construction, which was announced in 1996 and was supposed to be completed by 2014, would require dramatically more landfill than once thought. In the forest where Gamafuya saw a chance to return the dead to their families, the mining company saw an opportunity to sell massive amounts of earth to a pair of big spenders: the Japanese Defense Ministry and the US Department of Defense.

While the original land reclamation sites for the base were located in the northern part of Okinawa and on mainland Japan, the expansion seeks land from the south of Okinawa, known for hosting much of the fighting during the war. About 70 percent of the earth is to be sourced from Itoman, a city that once hosted some of the bloodiest episodes in the Battle of Okinawa, which stretched from April through June, 1945, and killed more than 100,000 Okinawan civilians—about a third of the island’s population. To this day, the ground in Itoman is packed with remains.

“It’s a sacred place, where the families of war victims visit to pray,” Gushiken said.

If the plan proceeds as written, the US military base will be built on a foundation filled with the bones of the war dead.

The base at Henoko Bay requires so much landfill because it is being built in the ocean. Okinawa, a prefecture comprised of an archipelago with an eponymous big island, already holds 32 US military installations on its combined 877 square miles. Most are on the main island, where the US military [occupies][2] 15 percent of all land. Officially, the new base is a replacement for the Futenma Air Station, which President Bill Clinton promised would close within five to seven years of a [1996 joint announcement][3]. But critics have long been skeptical that the base at Henoko will take the place of the old air station, both because its completion remains uncertain, and because its intended capacities exceed what Futenma has now.

[2]: <https://dc-office.org/basedata> [3]: <https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/13/world/us-will-return-base-in-okinawa.html>

Local architect and activist Makishi Yoshikazu [describes][4] the Henoko base plan as a “hat trick” in which three new facilities—a military airport, pier, and combat aircraft loading zone—will be rolled into one. “Although it’s called the ‘Futenma relocation,’ it’s not a relocation,” he said. “It’s the construction of a new base.” The difference is semantic, but it’s one that local activists find important. As the Japanese government expands the island’s area, the United States expands its military presence.

[4]: <https://apjjf.org/-Makishi-Yoshikazu/1819/article.html>

With Futenma still open, the base construction is delayed, in part, because the Japanese government needs more landfill for ground reinforcement work. Drilling surveys completed since 2014 [have revealed][5] that the seafloor off the shore of Henoko is “soft as mayonnaise,” making it too weak to support the planned base. According to Hideki Yoshikawa, an anthropologist and the director of the Okinawa Environmental Justice Project, the Japanese government’s 2014 plan was to drive 2,700 sand pillars into the seafloor; that number has since increased to 71,000.

[5]: <https://apjjf.org/2018/10/Lummis.html>

On top of the need for more dirt came restrictions on where to collect it. “In 2015 the Okinawa prefectural assembly passed a bylaw prohibiting the introduction of alien species in transported earth materials for landfill,” Yoshikawa explained. The [ordinance][6] is a crucial environmental protection: The Ryukyu Islands, the archipelago that makes up what is now Okinawa Prefecture, lies 400 miles south of mainland Japan, with a tropical climate and an array of diverse ecosystems. (Henoko Bay itself contains coral reefs and rare marine populations, including the Okinawa dugong, a [critically endangered][7] manatee relative.) The rule precluded the use of some mainland soil, which, under the previous plan, would likely have been teeming with [invasive species][8].

[6]: <http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2015/11/07/23961/> [7]: <https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/12/12/national/science-health/okinawa-dugongs-critically-endangered/%2523:~:text=The%252520International%252520Union%252520for%252520Conservation%252520of%252520Nature%252520has%252520updated%252520its,a%252520step%252520away%252520from%252520extinction.> [8]: <http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2013/12/13/12558/>

But the new scheme is legally dubious, too. The site now called Kumano Mine is within Okinawa Senseki (battle site) Quasi-National Park, a property designated for protection by the Japanese central government and maintained, in part, by the Prefecture of Okinawa. Next to the Kumano Mine is Konpaku-no-To, or Konpaku Memorial Tower, a stone monument where 35,000 bodies were interred after the war’s end.

“By protecting the battle site of the south of Okinawa main island, which is well-known as a fierce battlefield between Japan and USA during WWII, we will be aware of the misery caused by war and of the treasure of peace,” notes the prefectural government’s Nature Conservation Division on its [website][9]. “It is the place to pray for more than 200,000 war dead.” The total includes not only the Okinawan civilians who died during the war, but also tens of thousands of Japanese and American soldiers and Korean and Taiwanese conscripts who Japan forced into military service.

[9]: <https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/site/kankyo/shizen/koen/okinawa_sennseki_kokuteikouen.html>

After Gushiken approached local media with his findings in November, the Environment Department of Okinawa Prefecture ordered a pause to the development, but the reprieve appears to be short-lived. After a delay of about a month, the mining company submitted a new plan for development to the city of Itoman, and the city notified the prefecture of its approval on January 20. The prefectural government is reportedly ready to accept the plan as well.

The excavation site is located below a wooded area called the Peace Creation Forest, all within the Okinawa Senseki park. “If the collection of earth and sand is realized here, the road leading to the Peace Creation Forest Park would be filled with dump trucks,” wrote local activist group Okinawa Peace Forum in a January 26 [letter][10] to Governor Denny Tamaki. “The slope of the hill of the Peace Creation Forest Park will be scraped off, [and] the scenery surrounding the area will be tremendously destroyed.”

[10]: <https://blog.goo.ne.jp/chuy/e/f0f60e502a0246abba37dadae1d685b0?fbclid=IwAR3D1ZujHMny_tCyrk2wwlRsvGb4NrcRzE4u3UnBEwGSojHtTjdkGVUGhAo>

On January 25, the _Japan Times_ published a scoop that enraged peace activists. “The [Japanese] Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps reached a secret agreement in 2015 to station a GSDF amphibious unit at the Marines’ Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Okinawa Prefecture,” the story [read][11]. “The plan has been suspended due to the impasse between Okinawa and the Japanese government over the planned relocation of the Marines’ Air Station Futenma from a densely populated area in Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago. The GSDF, however, has yet to give up the plan.”

[11]: <https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/25/national/gsdf-marines-okinawa-plan/>

The amphibious unit, in the works since 2006 and [activated in 2018][12], had long been a cause for concern to opponents of Japan’s remilitarization. Japan’s US-imposed constitution forbids the country from maintaining an active military, but increasingly hawkish national governments, including those of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and now Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, have chipped away at this prohibition. The United States has largely supported them. (US Forces Japan and the Japan Ground Self Defense Force did not respond to _The Nation_ ’s requests for comment.)

[12]: <https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN1HE069-OCATP?edition-redirect=ca>

The _Japan Times_ story confirmed locals’ fears. “We were already imagining the new Henoko base is not only for US forces,” said Yuichi Kamoshita, a Buddhist monk who works with Gushiken and who organized a [petition][13] to protect the remains in Itoman.

[13]: <https://www.change.org/p/jap-prime-minister-protect-our-ancestors-and-a-sacred-site-don-t-build-a-new-us-military-base-at-henoko-okinawa-japan-on-war-victim-s-remains?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=722d344f-96a1-47ce-995d-4>

For many, the increased presence of the Japanese military awakens traumatic memories and passed-down stories of the Battle of Okinawa. During the three-month conflict, the Japanese army expelled civilians from their homes and drafted Okinawan teenagers into guerrilla warfare efforts—a story explained in Hanayo Oya and Chie Mikami’s 2018 documentary _[Boy Soldiers: The Secret War in Okinawa][14]_. To hide from both the Japanese and American militaries, many Okinawan civilians retreated underground for weeks, often starving to death, committing mass suicide, or being executed by soldiers from the mainland.

[14]: <http://www.spy-senshi.com/>

Once the independent Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa was colonized by Japan after a centuries-long struggle. It was annexed officially in 1879, and starting in 1898, the Japanese government privatized communally owned land and impoverished indigenous families, driving many to emigrate (including my great-grandparents). When World War II came, Japan intentionally concentrated its military in Okinawa, offering the most remote and newest prefecture as a diversion to stave off a US invasion of the mainland. It worked, but the Allied Forces still won, and the United States governed Okinawa from 1951 to 1972.

Despite the revelation of the Japanese Self-Defense Force’s intent to use Camp Schwab—and, almost certainly, the new base as well—the project is still regarded as an offering to the United States. In exchange for the presumed protection of the US military, Japan is footing the bill for the base construction, allowing the US to expand its network of military installations at minimal cost. Local and international opponents believe that the influence of the US government could stop the construction.

“With the Biden administration seemingly more inclined to focus on Indigenous issues in its own country, connecting these issues in the framework of Indigenous rights may be a good idea to direct the attention of the US government to the Henoko project,” Yoshikawa suggested, pointing to Biden’s nomination of Debra Haaland as secretary of the interior.

Gushiken said that he expects to see solidarity from Americans when they learn about the use of human remains for the landfill: “If they hear this story, they will realize this is a humanitarian issue, and they will raise their voices together against the plan.” While we chatted on Zoom, he scribbled on a piece of paper and held it up to the camera. In all caps, it said: “MAY HELLEN.”

He found the name, or names, written on a GI’s mess kit recovered years ago during an excavation at Hacksaw Ridge. Gushiken brings artifacts to classrooms for peace education. “I show that mess kit to kids and tell them that not only Okinawans died during the war. In addition to Okinawan and Japanese, American people’s blood and Korean people’s blood were mixed into the Okinawan soil.”

But to Gushiken, education is a secondary goal. “If we can find a family member of this May person, who is still alive and would like to have the mess kit, I would love to return it,” he said. For the nearly 40 years that Gushiken has pursued his work, his objective has been to identify artifacts and remains and return them to the families of the deceased.

The bones that Gushiken discovered in the fall are still in the ground at what is now Kumano Mine. “As the digging work had not been finished, the bones have been not collected yet,” Kamoshita said. Gushiken has appealed to the Okinawa Defense Bureau, asking its representatives to visit the site and see the remains for themselves. Still lacking a definitive answer, he plans to go on hunger strike in front of the Okinawa Prefecture Government Office Building starting March 1.

“When the Defense Bureau decided to collect earth and sand from the southern part of Okinawa main island, did they know that remains were still there?” Gushiken asked. When the bureaucrats demurred, he added: “As you are not able to answer, that means that you were aware of the fact that remains are there, but still you are trying to go ahead. That means you have lost your human hearts.”

#us military #okinawa #go home yangki

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antpernas · 4 years ago

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1/21/21

This day was so amazing!

So, originally, we had intended to wake up super early. I think I actually did end up waking up on time, but I didn’t want to make him get out of bed with so little sleep, so I just went back to sleep with him.

I think we ended up getting up and out of bed around 7:00 AM, and the first thing we did was head to Publix to get some groceries. Oat milk, greek yogurt, and some other stuff! The most important things were some bakery items. I got him to try his first croqueta! And also a papa rellena. He also bought some flowers to give to my mom.

Admittedly, I was super super nervous about him meeting my mom, but it went soooo well! He was such a sweetheart to her, and though I think she was a little overwhelmed she seemed to like him! While we had breakfast, he asked for some music and even tried to get my mom to dance with him. His genuine innocence and joy is so beautiful to me, I admire it in him so much. Eventually, my mom ended up leaving for work and we finished doing the dishes. Since we were now so behind schedule, we had to deviate from the original plan!

So at first, we had intended for Thursday to be Miami day. Since we were still home at like, 10:00, maybe even 11:00 AM, we thought it might be a better idea to switch the days and do West Palm that day and Miami over the weekend. And it was a great idea! Before we left, we made some PBJ sandwiches, made sure we had everything we needed (snorkel gear, snacks, water, clothes, towels, etc.) and turned off everything in the house. Then off we went!

We ended up going to John D. MacArthur state park, and gosh, what a beautiful time. We got there around 11:30 AM and decided the best course of action would be to kayak first then see if we could snorkel afterwards. We headed over to the kayak rental station (ended up having to turn back around to get our wallets since they didnt accept cash without a 100$ insurance deposit), rented out a double kayak for two hours and got to rowing!

Kayaking with him was absolutely amazing. We went to the other side of the inlet that I hadn’t kayaked when I had been there before, and everything was just so beautiful. We saw storks, egrets, some jumping fish, and of course, mangroves. Probably the most adorable thing about his admiration for the view was how genuinely captivated and enthusiastic he was about all the mangroves. It was so pure! So sweet! It was so adorable.

We took a break on a little mini deserted beach in the middle of the kayaking trail and walked around a bit. Probably the most confusing part of that island was the fact that there was a plastic beach chair just... there? We took a bunch of cute pictures, tried to explore for a bit, then hopped back in the kayak!

We kayaked a bit more, bumped into a sign in an attempt to go through it as if it were some kind of gateway, eventually managed to get through it, then headed back for the original launch.

When we got to the launch, a park ranger was there organizing some of the kayaks and we chatted with her for a bit about the kayaks and stuff. Stupendously, I managed to break the grip for the kayak right in front of her (Scorpio was trying to warn me that it was loose), then immediately LOST IT right there in the sand. She was super sweet, though, and helped me drag it back into the kayak cubbies. After that, me and Scorpio went to the bathrooms, then back to the rental station to turn in our paddles and life vests. While the clerk was figuring some stuff out, we “chatted” with Scoot (the sea turtle they had in an aquarium for research purposes). The clerk ended up only charging us for one hour instead of two, so we lucked out there! Once that was done, we headed back to the car.

We stayed at the car for a little while to eat our snacks and PBJ sandwiches, and right as we finished a squirrel started coming up to Scorpio as if to ask for food. I only got the tail end of it on film, but it was literally grabbing his hands as if to steal food from him. I was literally witnessing a Snow White moment in real life. When we finally finished, we started making our way to the beach!

The walk on the boardwalk was beautiful, of course. It was really cool to show Scorpio the inlet we were just paddling on from the bridge, it was like the opposite exposure I had gotten of the park, since I had never kayaked there until after going to the beach there multiple times.

When we got to the beach, we walked at least a half of a mile north of the entrance to find the rock reef. Thankfully, the sand was super empty that far north, so it was super easy to just throw our stuff down and get ready to start snorkeling! Unfortunately, I saw a bunch of construction vehicles a little farther north, so the abandoned trail I wanted to take him to was inaccessible. Even still, we had a great time just snorkeling! We saw a bunch of cute fish, I caught a glimpse of what I believe was a barracuda (it was moving so fast I only saw it for a moment), and picked up a bunch of litter! He hugged me from behind in the water a couple of times which made my heart absolutely melt.

Eventually, we had our fill and started heading back to the car. On the way back, though, we ran into the same park ranger from earlier and started chatting about the stuff we saw. Scorpio mentioned how he had wanted to see a manatee, and she started talking about how there were a bunch of sightings in the previous two weeks. If only we had come sooner! We got back to the car after that.

The next stop for us was Blue Heron Bridge! As pretty as John D. MacArthur is, Blue Heron was a WAY better spot for snorkeling. There were so many species of fish, multiple shipwrecks and debris, artificial coral fixtures, and we even picked up a STARFISH!! It was so much fun to be spending time with him again, and seeing so much cool stuff made it even better.

Once we finished the snorkel trail, we started heading out of the water. For some reason, I was absolutely FREEZING my ass of, so he started holding me while we walked back to the car. I was really touched when a passerby started showing a lot of concern for me, she thought I had been hurt! But in reality I was just a baby that wanted to be warmed up, and I was enjoying the walking cuddle very much. We thanked her for her concern, then headed to rinse off and get going!

After that, we were going to head home, but I made a quick stop at Publix for us to get a late lunch and for him to try his first ever pub sub. While we were waiting in line, Scorpio was trying to get some water out of his ear, and somebody suggested a different way of shaking your head to try and get it out and it WORKED. It was so funny! And the deli employees who ended up making our sandwiches were SOOOOO fucking FUNNY. It was just so much positivity and laughter, I swear it’s like he has a magic effect on everyone around him. But the best part of it all was how much he liked the sub. Winner winner chicken dinner!

When we got home, he ran straight to the volleyball courts to start playing with my dad and the people he had over. I went inside to eat since I was starving, then afterwards went outside to play a game. I only played one before I went back inside to call it a day. I showered off, then he came inside and showered off, and I’m pretty sure he played some piano and sang a bit before we got ready for bed.

When we were in bed, we had another little heart-to-heart about our feelings and our thoughts. We agreed to try and have one each night so we could be on the same page about how we were doing. We cuddled to sleep and that was our day!

#mydiary

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ustribunenews-blog · 7 years ago

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Special Marine Warning issued August 27 at 5:40PM EDT expiring August 27 at 6:30PM EDT by NWS Tampa Bay Ruskin FL

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a special marine warning for Tampa Bay waters; Coastal waters from Englewood to Tarpon Springs FL out 20 NM; Waters from Englewood to Tarpon Springs FL out 20 to 60 NM starting on 8/27/2018 2:40:00 PM. NWS estimates this event is ‘likely’ to happen and the event is categorized as ‘severe.’ (more…)

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karencoller · 3 years ago

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The 6 perfect diving places in Florida

Visiting the Sunshine State is a fantastic experience.

From natural wonders to magical adventures, there is plenty to see and do in the Florida.

But I want to tell you about most exciting diving sites there:

1.Devil’s Den

Scuba diving instruction and leisure are provided by this privately owned and operated facility near Williston.

There are 54 feet of depth and 120 feet of width in the cave.

Karst window allow the sun to shine directly through the opening above the cave, making it perhaps the most captivating view of all. Moss dangles down from the cave’s roof, giving the cave an overgrown menacing appearance, but it fits the cave’s character.

2.Dry Tortugas National Park

Snorkel in crystal clear waters with amazing marine life at a 19th century fort.

The secluded Dry Tortugas National Park is located nearly 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of Key West. With seven small islands, this 100-square-mile park is primarily open water. The park, which is only accessible by boat or seaplane, is famous around the world for its magnificent Fort Jefferson, beautiful blue waters, world-class coral reefs and marine life, and a diverse array of bird species.

3.Ginnie Springs

Ginnie Springs’ water is incredibly clean, and the region is large enough that you can go camping and do other things when you’re not on the water! Every day, it pumps out 80 million gallons of water.

Ginnie Springs is a popular spot for diving, but you will definitely need a wetsuit as the water is 72 degrees, which is very cold!

This place is a great place for scuba diving or exploring the caverns if you’re an experienced cave diver.

Dive sites include Devil’s Ear, Devi’s Eye, and Devil’s Spring here.

4.Neptune Memorial Reef

The Neptune Memorial Reef is located 3.25 miles off the coast of Key Biscayne, Florida, and will encompass 16 acres of ocean floor when completed.

Certified divers will be able to descend 45 feet below the ocean’s surface to visit the final resting place of their loved ones among the structures of this one-of-a-kind artistic rendition of the Lost City of Atlantis. Non-divers can enjoy their journey over the serene waters of the Memorial Reef by snorkeling, swimming or scattering flowers in memory of their loved ones.

A expanding ecology of sea creatures unique to the Florida coast can be found on the Neptune Memorial Reef. Two of the reasons why Neptune Memorial Coral is the ultimate ‘Green Burial’ potential are the natural processes made possible by this reef and the minimum influence on the earth that placing here has. The structures of the Neptune Memorial Reef perform a crucial role as an anchor for coral growth at a time when reefs all around the world are dying. Coral is an important part of a healthy ocean since it provides not only biodiversity but also coastline protection, food and other resources for humans and marine creatures, as well as recreational opportunities.

5.Manatee Springs State Park

The first-magnitude spring produces 100 million gallons of water each day. This makes it a popular area to cool off and stare into the water’s depths while strolling along the park’s boardwalk.

Manatees, according to their name, can be observed in the cooler months, while birds, animals, and fish can be seen all year.

Manatee Springs is a great place to do scuba diving or snorkeling. The state owns this beautiful park, and if you want to scuba dive, you must present your C-Card at the entry. Without cave certification, no dive lights are permitted. A steep limestone slope lowers down to a cavern entrance at 40 feet in this huge basin, swiftly turning into a cave dive. Catfish Hotel Sink is 200 yards distant. Duckweed covers this sink, which contains a cave system that has been linked to Manatee Spring. The depths are usually approximately 35 feet.

6.John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Pennekamp, John The United States’ first underwater park, Coral Reef State Park, was established in 1963. The state park is 25 miles long and 3 miles wide, and it is home to a variety of aquatic plant and animal species, as well as mangroves and a variety of bird species.

The park can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. On snorkeling and scuba diving tours, visitors can see the brilliant coral reef and the popular Christ of the Deep underwater statue.

That’s only part of a lot’s interesting places which you can visit in Florida.If you want to see more,you can read my hole article here.

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naturecoaster · 5 years ago

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Weekend Fishing 4Cast for West Central Florida

Big gag grouper continue to hit the docks when anglers return to port from a long day’s fishing. Some of the largest gags are being taken from depths beyond 120-feet of water west of Pinellas. To the north of Hernando County, anglers are finding keeper gags in 50-to 60-feet of water on rocky bottom with good relief. A plethora of snappers continues to be caught. Vermilion, lane, and mangrove snappers are all chewing pretty well. The mangrove snappers have been available just about anywhere you have good structure from 10-feet and beyond. Mangos in nearshore waters are running between 10-and 16-inches in length but for the big ones tipping the scales at over 8-pounds look beyond 100-feet of water, or roughly 30-miles or more off Pinellas. Red snapper anglers continue to hit deep water for big American Reds while fishing aboard federally permitted boats. The party boats at Hubbard’s Marina remind everyone that the last day of fishing for red snapper this year will be August 1. Their boats are federally permitted for-hire vessels and are allowed to keep red snapper through the last day. Permit have been caught on artificial reefs and wrecks in the mid-range areas of Manatee and Sarasota Counties. Many of the reefs from 7-miles and beyond will hold these fish, but from time to time you’ll see a school of these fish around Egmont Key and the crystal clear flats off Passage Key and Bean Point. Capt. Read the full article

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deepseafishingdurbansite-blog · 8 years ago

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Deep Sea Fishing Durban Charters

For deep sea fishing Durban go to the http://www.durbandeepseafishingcharters.co.za/ site and get started now.

Bank & Egg Sinkers - Great Weights For Saltwater Fishing

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When we speak about offshore fishing in Australia, first thing concerns our thoughts are the Gold Coast offshore fishing

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7 Reasons Why Deep Sea Fishing Is A Great Adventure Sport

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Jamaica Site Seeing: A visit to Jamaica without experiencing the interior in the island is nearly like not visiting in any respect. There are a number of a good places visitor can enjoy when visiting Jamaica. These include Dunn's River Fall, Seven Miles Beach, Blue Hole Mineral Spring, Rockland Bird Sanctuary, the numerous craft markets, markets, and great houses and the like. There are many tours operators through the entire island that can facilitate these activities.

The Deep Sea Fishing Constitution

If it's your first time to go for a deep sea fishing trip, there are some important things to know to make it a fun-filled and profitable one. Here are a few of the key points when having a deep sea fishing trip.

Then there's the gorgeous scenery which can be watched from boat and of course going deep sea fishing in Florida which is proabably the principle cause for many guests. And a few elements may be mixed, as an example going deep sea fishing and watching the horizon on deep sea fishing durban.

If you're planning to venture out to see, be sure to bring a protracted a warm sweater and rain jacket even in the summertime because the climate can change shortly. You may wish to be comfy regardless of the climate to actually enjoy your trip.

The Cod fishing Charters are 10-eleven hours trip from dock to dock. The fishing waters are around 1 to 1 ½ hours from the dock each manner and the fishing time that you get is about 7 to eight hours. Cod fishing MA may be the most thrilling and adventurous journey to remember for a lifetime. Seeing the scale of the huge fishes will depart you amazed and you get a chance to check your physical strength with these creatures of the sea. Cod fishing MA is often done in big fish and deep sea charters.

The Mississippi Gulf coast, San Diego coast, Cozumel coast and Cancun seashores are among the many hottest locations for deep-sea fishing. Though deep-sea fishing is specifically for an experienced angler, it's one type of sports activities fishing that anybody can enjoy.

If you happen to thought that you ought to be catching your reside bait first after which shifting away from the reef to catch extra fish, assume again. In case you stay near the reside bait, you improve your possibilities of catching the bigger fish which might be feeding on them.

Deep sea fishing charters are boats ran by an organization or particular person that may take vacationers out on the water for a fishing expertise they are going to always remember. When participating in a deep sea fishing constitution, you can determine whether or not you wish to backside fish or troll. If trolling doesn't appear to provide the results you had hoped for, deep sea fishing charters can pull close to the reef and allow you to have your way with the fish in that space. This means you will have to journey quite a methods to rent a deep sea fishing constitution to accomplish your goal. There are deep sea fishing charters situated all over the globe.

When opting to go for some ocean exploration or deep sea fishing to get a vacation, you will see that some very important parts to consider. It is going to assist to acquire the proper fishing charters readily as soon as the variety of persons to journey using the fishing exercise is decided. Going in a bunch or likely alone will assist in setting the allotted price range for that activity. Going alone will provide an individual the entire focus with the captain, but it will also be a fun encounter to go together with family members and buddies. Anybody may conserve a significant amount of funds when probably utilizing a group by expressing the expenditures of the fishing charters with every member. It may be essential to ascertain the requirements of the actions, in order to return throughout the right charter offers and offers.

Seining, long lining and netting are another strategies used in deep-sea fishing. Because the identify implies, lengthy-lining will get its name from the size of the strains which might be used. It is one of the widespread strategies of fishing used to attract fish. Netting strategies rely on nets which can be set in shallow water across the coasts.

Deep sea fishing is an angling expertise like no other. In case you have never tried it, you positively must plan a visit quickly. Deep sea fishing seems just a little bit more adventures because you take a ship miles away from land and out to sea. Out there, an angler feels part of a unique world where the fish outnumber man.

Many women and men locate pleasure once they're on the sea. There's a few thriller that lies underneath the ocean, which may entice any one to uncover and uncover. Discovering the sea is among the promising actions in the middle of a trip. People who are on the point of simply take their retirement often think about their alternate options, on how they are going to spend their free of charge days upfront. You can find those that select to spend their vacation across the highway with their RVs, and there are people who need the journey of exploring the open up ocean with their yachts. There are literally numerous recreations that might be achieved on the ocean, and one of that is deep sea fishing It's actually also recognized being an enormous sport fishing or fishing sport in several nations. Some individuals might presumably think that this type of activity is harmful, but those that like deep sea fishing are ceaselessly thrilled and had a extraordinary time.

Deep sea reef fishing makes use of the common the equipment to catch any sort of seafood. Nevertheless, because the bass found in deep oceans are sometimes a lot larger than others caught near coast (or inland), heavy-duty handle is required. Rods that may face up to extra nervousness and weight are required, as is a stronger, higher-test fishing line. Each man-made and live lure are utilized in offshore fishing, depending totally on the kind of bass being pursued. Minnows, squid along with chunks of slice larger fish are regular sorts of bait.

Mainly, there are two varieties of deep sea fishing strategies - trolling and bottom fishing. The fishing technique is chosen, based on the location of the fish. Trolling techniques require keeping the fishing boat at a relentless velocity of six knots. In backside fishing, the boat anchors in deep water and hooks charged with lures are dropped to the underside of the ocean.

Different purpose why plenty of people are into the deep sea fishing is that they arrive to see the various creatures underneath the ocean individually, which others solely see on televisions. The deep ocean is the place manatees, sharks, marlins, snappers, groupers, sea turtles, and plenty of way more are may be identified. The thought of baiting, reeling, and hauling a large fish might be quick to grasp, however there is extra to it, given that each experience is generally new along with the thrill will certainly not function out. There is normally a problem in between the ocean along with the fishermen. Many individuals also choose deep sea fishing as their sport as a result of component of surprise, every single time they caught gigantic fish. You could find varying talents to create, as well as rising the strength, as a method to carry out the fishing duties nicely.

There are different sizes and deal offers for fishing charters based mostly on the quantity of people who will go for deep sea fishing. The crews may be the one to prepare for all the luring equipment or baits, at the identical time because the fishing rods and tackles. Hiring fishing charters will offer a clean fishing trip which is absolutely freed from concerns. These that will go for deep sea fishing journey will simply have to organize their selves. It will aid them to discover in regards to the doable species of fish that they're going to come across contained in the ocean, as well as the catching approaches, to ensure that they will be ready for that troubles that fishing will let them encounter.

Deep sea fishing is normally a physical activity. There might be a bit or no time for sitting when ready for your fish to get the bait. Deep sea fishes are enormous and gigantic and much more challenging to trap as compared towards the fishes inshore. It is also anticipated to possess substantial or state-of-the-art tools which can withstand the strength and excess weight of significant fishes. Getting a total set of fishing gears will help, in an effort to catch a fish merely. Anybody who'll work together with deep sea fishing really should expect to see completely different ocean creatures that might convey satisfaction or unpleasant expertise. Choosing the best fishing charters is one technique for promoting safety while getting within the heart on the ocean. When searching for dependable particulars, gives numerous assist.

For those who ever get the chance to go to this deep sea fishing guide, one of many top places to go to is in the North West, often called Ningaloo reef. This has a worldwide popularity for being one of the best places to snorkel and fish. The reef itself is very large - several hundred kilometers long, and is home to extra marine life than you may think about. There are a variety of fishing charters that head out every single day to enjoy the reef, and naturally to get an excellent feed of fish with deep sea fishing durban.

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charllieeldridge · 5 years ago

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Diving in Mexico: Top Scuba Locations, Shops and Sites

With a coastline that stretches for over 9,000 km and several islands, it should come as no surprise that there’s some awesome diving in Mexico. We’ll take a closer look at scuba diving in Mexico in this detailed guide.

On the west coast, you can dive in the Sea of Cortez and reach amazing destinations like the Socorro Islands. This is where all of the liveaboards in Mexico are located, allowing you to swim with giant manta rays or go cage diving with great white sharks.

Meanwhile, over on the other coast, you’ll find the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean. Here, you can enjoy world-class diving destinations such as Isla Mujeres and Cozumel. Some of the best diving in Mexico can be found in this area, including the amazing Banco Chincorro.

There are hundreds of different dive sites in Mexico. Your options for exploring them range from standard half-day fun dives to epic liveaboard trips — experience cage diving, an underwater museum, night diving, the list goes on and on.

One thing unique about scuba diving in Mexico is that you can explore the country’s fascinating cenotes. These natural, freshwater sinkholes can be found all over the Yucatan Peninsula and they’re even more incredible if you go diving in them.

The possibilities for marine life-spotting are nearly endless. On dive tours in Mexico, you could spot great white sharks, humpback whales, manta rays, sea lions, dolphins, and much more. Not to mention, the coral is healthy and vibrant.

You can find plenty of excellent dive shops in Mexico where you can get certified to start exploring the other 70% of the planet. Scuba diving is very popular in Mexico, especially in coastal cities and on the islands. Best of all, you can go diving year-round!

If you’re planning a trip to Mexico and hoping to do some scuba diving, this is the guide for you. Read on for practical information and tips on the best time to go diving, average costs, some of the best dive sites, and more.

Here it goes! The best diving in Mexico…

When to Go Diving in Mexico

The good news is that you can go diving in Mexico year-round. No matter what time of year you travel to Mexico, you can find a place with ideal conditions for diving.

That being said, conditions vary from coast to coast and month to month. Deciding when to go depends on what kind of diving you want to do and what marine life you hope to see.

Generally speaking, the best time to go diving in Mexico is between November and March. Of course, this also coincides with the country’s peak tourism season. You’ll definitely want to book in advance, especially for liveaboard trips that have limited space.

Plankton blooms occur between April-May and again in September-October, which affects visibility. The summer and fall months also mean high temperatures, frequent rain, and the chance of hurricanes.

On the plus side, it’s the low season which means better deals and smaller crowds! The summer months are also the best time for cenote diving as you’ll get the best light, plus it’s whale shark season. Summer is actually a fantastic time for some Mexico diving.

I’ll go into more detail about the best time to go diving in Mexico for each specific location so you can plan your trip at an ideal time.

☞ SEE ALSO: Scuba Diving With Sharks and Eels on The Belize Barrier Reef

Cost of Diving in Mexico

If you’re new to the world of scuba diving, then Mexico is a great place to begin. Beginners can do a Discover Scuba Diving course for around $50 just to try out breathing underwater in a pool. Up that to $125 and you can add two ocean dives as well.

For more in-depth training, you can take a 2-day scuba diver course for around $250. This certification will allow you to dive up to 40 feet (12 meters). This is a good option if you want to quickly get a basic certification and do some simple dives to try it out.

Perhaps the most popular option is just going for the PADI Open Water course. This is the world’s most recognized diving license and allows you to dive up to 60 feet (18 meters). These courses take 3-4 days and cost anywhere from $400-480.

Once you’ve received your certification, you can sign up for “fun dives” and put your new skills to work. Some shops offer 1-tank dives for $65-70. Typically, 2-tank dives that include equipment cost $80-85 per person if booked in advance.

Most shops include rental equipment, although some charge extra for gear (BCD, wetsuit, fins, mask, etc.)

If you’ll be doing a lot of diving, it’s worth investing in some of your own gear. I highly recommend purchasing your own mask and snorkel. Diving is so much more enjoyable when you always have a mask and snorkel that fits and works properly — there’s nothing worse than a leaking mask. Even if a dive shop has dozens to choose from, you may not find one that works for you.

Specialty trips like diving at night or in the cenotes obviously cost a bit more. Night dives usually run about $95 for one tank, while cenote diving depends on the location, but in general, they cost around $120-180.

Most dive shops in Mexico will offer a discount if you book multiple dive trips with them, and it’s always worth it to ask.

In Mexico, there are also plenty of resorts with an onsite dive shop. These places typically have package deals that include accommodation and diving.

☞ SEE ALSO: Guide to Scuba Diving in Raja Ampat, Indonesia

Top 3 Dive Sites in Mexico

There are so many amazing dive sites to choose from in Mexico that it’s pretty hard to narrow the list down to three. It really depends on your skill level and what kind of experience you want to have.

That being said, here are three of the top dive sites in Mexico that showcase the incredible diversity on offer here:

Socorro Island

Located 240 miles off the coast of the Baja Peninsula are the Revillagigedo Islands. Of these small, remote islands, the most famous is Socorro.

The island takes a lot of effort to get to and therefore, is only reachable by liveaboard. Here you can enjoy some of the best diving in Mexico, spotting humpback whales, hammerhead sharks, manta rays, and more. Note: The quality of liveaboards varies, make sure you do your research and choose a safe and reputable company.

Cenote Dos Ojos

Seeing as Mexico is the only place where you can go diving in a cenote, you know we had to include one in the Top 3! While there are thousands of cenotes in the Yucatan, the one best-known as a dive site is Dos Ojos (Two Eyes).

The name comes from the fact that these two nearby cenotes resemble a pair of turquoise eyes from above. They’re connected by a long passageway, which makes this one of the largest underwater cave systems in the world. The water here is crystal clear, don’t miss it.

Banco Chinchorro

This is the largest coral atoll in the Northern Hemisphere and one of the best dive sites in Mexico. It’s home to numerous shipwrecks, incredibly colorful reefs, and fun drift dives. Although, the 9 shallow wrecks are actually better on snorkel.

I should note that Banco Chinchorro is quite difficult to reach from hubs like Cancun or Playa del Carmen. You’ll need to head to either Xcalak or Majahual and sign up with a dive shop in one of those towns. It’s a lot of effort but well worth it!

Best Diving On The Caribbean Coast

When to Go: Diving possible year-round, May-September for cenote diving, June-September for whale sharks

Must-See Marine Life: whale sharks, bull sharks, sea turtles, manatees, eagle rays, sea turtles, moray eels

Average Cost/Dive: 2-tank dives for $80-85

Cozumel

This small island is one of the most accessible locations for excellent diving in Mexico. It’s home to an international airport and cruise ship port and is easily reached by ferry or speed boat from Playa del Carmen. Diving is one of the top things to do in Cozumel for good reason.

Since Cozumel is surrounded by a protected part of the Mesoamerican reef system, it’s one of the best places to visit in Mexico for divers. Teeming with marine life such as turtles, rays, nurse sharks, and the endemic splendid toadfish, this is a beautiful place to go diving.

Playa del Carmen

Speaking of Playa del Carmen, it’s also an excellent base for divers. From Playa, you can experience colorful reefs, shipwreck diving, and swimming with majestic bull sharks.

Those hoping to dive some cenotes should consider basing in Playa instead of Cozumel, as you’ll spend less time and money in transit. The dive sites of Cozumel are still easily reached and most shops run daily trips to them. Plus you have more options for accommodation, shopping, dining, and nightlife here. Check out our complete guide to Playa del Carmen for more.

Cancun/Isla Mujeres

The famous beach resort of Cancun isn’t just for Spring Breakers and honeymooners. It’s also an awesome destination for scuba diving in Mexico! You don’t have to go far from your beach chair here to enjoy some world-class diving in the crystal clear water of the Caribbean.

In addition to the standard reef dives, you can also check out a few shipwrecks and an incredible underwater museum here (in fact, that same artist completed underwater sculptures in Grenada as well). The nearby island of Isla Mujeres is also a hotspot for diving, as whale sharks flock here in the summer months — there’s actually a whale shark festival held on the island.

☞ SEE ALSO: Diving in Isla Mujeres with Squalo Adventures

Mahahual/Xcalak

If you’re really serious about diving in Mexico, consider putting forth the effort to get down to either Mahahual or Xcalak. It takes a while to get there from the Cancun Airport, but it’s worth it to be able to go diving at Banco Chinchorro.

This Biosphere Reserve is one of the best places to go diving in the Northern Hemisphere. Here you might spot nurse sharks, angelfish, stingrays, loggerhead turtles and so much more.

Best Diving On The Pacific Coast

When to Go: November-May for Socorro, August-October for Guadalupe, August-November for Sea of Cortez

Must-See Marine Life: great white sharks, hammerhead sharks, manta rays, humpback whales, sea lions

Average Cost/Dive: 2-tank dives for $90

Baja California

California’s Mexican cousin just south of the border is the place to go if you’re interested in cage diving with great white sharks. Sail from Ensenada on a 6-day liveaboard trip to the tiny Guadalupe Island. This is the place to go diving in Mexico if you want to get up close and personal with Jaws!

You don’t have to get on a liveaboard and come face to face with a great white shark to enjoy diving in Baja California. The small fishing town of Bahía de los Ángeles is a good place to base yourself for diving in the Sea of Cortez, where you can swim with dolphins, sea lions, and even whales.

Baja California Sur

Moving down to the southern part of the peninsula, there’s lots of excellent diving to be had. The popular resort towns of Los Cabos (Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo) both have plenty of dive shops and fantastic sites nearby. Here you can go diving with hammerhead sharks at the famous Gordo Banks dive site or schools of manta rays at Santa Maria.

This is also the jump-off point for other liveaboards in Mexico to the amazing Socorro Islands. Swim with giant manta rays, ten species of sharks, bottlenose dolphins, and even humpback whales on one of these epic trips. This is definitely some of the best scuba diving in Mexico.

Puerto Vallarta

Liveaboard trips are awesome, but they’re definitely not for everyone. If you prefer to spend your days diving and your evenings on land, then look no further than Puerto Vallarta. Scuba diving is one of the best things to do in Puerto Vallarta for the adventurous traveller.

This famous city in the Banderas Bay is surrounded by some world-class dive sites, such as Los Arcos and the Marietas Islands. You can enjoy diving with dolphins and whales by day and hitting some of the town’s fantastic restaurants and bars by night.

Learn more in our complete guide to travelling Puerto Vallarta, and figure out where to stay in the city in our accommodation and neighbourhood guide.

Ready for Diving in Mexico?

As you can see, the options are practically endless when it comes to diving in Mexico! Whether it’s your very first time or your 100th, there’s something for you.

It’s really hard to top scuba diving in Mexico when it comes to the range of experiences you can have. Where else in the world can you go cage diving with great white sharks, explore an underwater museum, swim alongside humpback whales, and go diving in an underground sinkhole? Seriously, you can do all of these and more on a Mexico diving trip!

While I’ve listed some of the best places to base yourself for diving and some of the must-visit sites, I barely scratched the surface. If you have experience diving in Mexico, please feel free to drop a comment below and share some tips and recommendations.

Images in this post are courtesy of Shutterstock, a website for finding royalty-free videos and images.

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juancoariza · 5 years ago

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Colloquium - Journal 3

The Six Mile Cypress Slough

This trip has been the most educational by far, getting to explore new areas and learning about their history. I learned about the Monday group, an environmental team formed in the 70s around SWFL to protect endangered regions. From further research, I found out they were not only responsible for the preservation of the slough, but that of other regions. As listed in the following:

For 46 years, the Monday Group got involved in projects such as Cape Coral's Eco-Park, Six Mile Cypress Slough in Fort Myers, CREW wetlands, east Lee County's Manatee Park, Lee County's Conservation 20/20 program, Eco Trek, Babcock Ranch, exotic invasive species and Everglades restoration as well as the region's water management, manatee laws and bald eagle protection plans.

Quoted from: https://www.news-press.com/story/news/2019/01/07/teens-turn-monday-group-into-powerful-conservation-group-swfl/2468010002/

The conservation of these regions is funded by taxpayer dollars in their state taxes, and the bill for these preservation efforts are re-agreed upon every 20 years with resounding success. This conservation effort also falls under Conservation 2020, a new set of government sanctions to protect wildlife.

The Welcome Center

The Six Mile Cypress welcome center is a LEED Silver certified building, achieved by, among many other features:

using collected rainwater for the eco-friendly bathrooms

Using wood-plastic composite boards for the center, reducing the need for chemical bleaching natural woods

Building the center in an area of the preserve that was already disturbed by humans, so no extra land was damaged in the process.

The welcome centered was filled with infographics, displays, and demonstrations of the wildlife of the area, the history of the slough, and the importance of the slough for the environment.

(1). Photoset of Welcome Center Displays, original picture

The Nature Trail

The nature trail is a boardwalk built from the same wood-plastic composite, with larger wooden logs for support. It is slightly over 1 mile in length, and separates into four different regions based on the nearby bodies of water.

(2). Six Mile Cypress Nature Trail Guide, original picture

1) Gator Lake

The first stop of the walk was in Gator Lake, the largest man-made lake in the reserve, formed from the mining of limestone and other material for the construction of Six Mile road. During the construction process, large reserves of limestone were deposited deep into the earth. As we learned from the previous trip, limestone is excellent at filtering water and restoring the aquifer supply. Since the slough is a body of moving water, this filtered water returns into the Estero Bay, providing life and sustenance to all ecosystems it encounters.

(3). Overlooking the Gator Lake, original picture

2) Wood Duck Pond

The Wood Duck pond had the most wildlife activity. We were able to see a Great Blue Heron, turtles, alligators, and a variety of fishes. In this area we discussed how ponds are created in nature, mainly in three methods

Animal activity, such as alligators and snakes digging for their nests, which fill with water during the rainy season

Natural fires, which level the soil and allow it to absorb more water during rainy seasons, slowly creating a pond

Limestone reserves, which slowly filter the water and create smaller puddles - this over a period of time creates a larger puddle.

(4). Wood Duck Pond cypress and duckweed, original picture.

3) Otter Pond and Ash Pop Pond

In the otter pond and ash pond, we discussed the concept of ecosystem services. The environment provides all services for life: wind, food, shelter, water, and communities of organisms - for example, coral reefs and sloughs act as a line of defense against hurricanes, slowing their wind speeds before the hurricane arrives to the mainland.

(5). Otter Pond lily pads, original picture

Significance to the Environment

This preservation effort and its history are astounding to me. The slough is sustainable since it is a preserved environment - legally, no changes can be made to the area, so the natural ecosystem cycles work as intended. Visitors from all over the world come to this preserve in observation of this environment, and it benefits the local tourism economy. The variety of species is even more impressive - from birds to fish, lichen and epiphytes, to the insects running amok.

(6). Selection of Species at Six Mile, listed:

Blood lichen

Oak and cypress in ecotone

Duckweed growth

Resurrection fern in bloom

Something unique about the slough’s nature walk were the quotes spread around, from famous people throughout history, proclaiming their love for nature. This ties to the concept of biophilia - if historical figures are inspired by nature, why shouldn’t we? A selection of the quotes is shown below:

(7). Selection of Quotes along the Boardwalk, original pictures

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wayneooverton · 6 years ago

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Five Great March Dive Destinations

Spring is just around the corner, offering the promise of longer days and much-needed sunshine. And why not start the new season right with a trip to one of these epic destinations around the world? Here are our picks for five great March dive destinations.

Tubbataha, the Philippines

Almost 386 square miles (100,000 hectares) of pristine reef in the Tubbataha Reef National Park mean spectacular diving in the Philippines at this time of year. It’s no surprise this special national park has received UNESCO World Heritage status.

Scuba diving Tubbataha is only possible by liveaboard. The short dive season runs from March to June, when the skies and seas are at their finest. Surrounded by thriving reefs and abundant marine life, diving here features numerous dive sites around three uninhabited islands.

Sitting in the Coral Triangle, there are around 350 species of corals. There are over 500 species of fish, plus 13 species of whales and 11 shark species at Tubbataha. The water is crystal-clear, the colors are vibrant and it’s a great destination for underwater photography. Huge schools of fish will engulf you. You might see green and hawksbill turtles, as well, plus mantas and eagle rays amidst the action.

One of the best things about this unique destination is that the diving is suitable for all experience levels thanks to the sheer diversity of dive sites.

Cuba

A silky shark in Cuban waters

Now that Cuba is more accessible, this warm-water destination is well worth visiting for varied diving and the best sea conditions in March. With over 3,400 miles (5500 km) of coastline and unique dive spots, there is something for every diver to enjoy.

A labyrinth of over 20 cave systems will keep adventurous divers happy. There are also wrecks, drop-offs, and the UNESCO-protected Jardines de la Reina. These ‘Gardens of the Queen’ form a chain of 250 coral and mangrove islands teeming with marine life.

There is an astonishing diversity of marine life in Cuba, thanks to its reef system forming part of the world’s second-largest coral reef. The mangroves are home to manatees and there are nearly 100 different species of sharks. You may also see numerous dolphin species, rays and 700 or so fish species. It is also possible to dive with whale sharks at certain times of year, with November being the best month for doing so.

This quiet and well-preserved dive destination has been less affected by tourism than other places, with just a handful of Cuba liveaboards operating. It’s best to book early, as a limited number of visitors can come each year.

Socorro Islands, Mexico

Dolphins in Socorro

If you’re a fan of megafauna diving, March is a great month to go scuba diving in Socorro. Surround yourself with ocean giants while making the most of winter’s calmer seas and great water visibility up to 164 feet (50 m).

This isolated liveaboard diving destination offers diving around a group of four volcanic islands sitting 250 miles (400 km) off the coast of Baja California. Futhermore, it’s a paradise for large pelagics. Being an ancient migration pathway for humpback whales, hundreds of these iconic whales arrive each winter and you can hear — and sometimes see — them while diving.

San Benedicto Island, one of the Revillagigedo Islands, offers the chance to dive with the world’s friendliest giant Pacific manta rays, known for their tolerance of divers and huge wingspans up to 23 feet (7 m) across. These fascinating rays congregate at submerged pinnacles and cleaning stations, coming close to divers as they pass by. You can also dive with pods of bottlenose dolphins as they follow the mantas and mimic divers’ movements.

Scapa Flow, Scotland

Scotland might not be at the top of every diver’s wish list, but it offers some of the best diving in Britain at the wreck-diving mecca of Scapa Flow.

Sheltered by surrounding islands, the waters at Scapa Flow form a calm, natural harbor in the Orkney Islands. A visit in March will see you enjoying the best visibility as you explore all this cold-water dive destination has to offer.

Once the former chief base of the Royal Navy, the islands held the German High Seas Fleet at the end of World War I until a German commander, fearing the vessels would be taken by the Allies, gave the order to scuttle the entire fleet. Fifty-two of those vessels remain there today and provide a wealth of wreck diving opportunities, including shallow and deep wrecks for all experience levels.

There are a number of dive operators offering charters to Scapa Flow and a PADI dive center on Orkney itself.

Micronesia

Most divers know all about Micronesia’s incredible diving and will easily name Palau and Chuuk Lagoon as two bucket-list destinations. But there are three other Micronesian hidden gems: Pohnpei, Kosrae and Yap.

Yap is all about the big animals, with the main draw being the year-round presence of graceful manta rays at a variety of dive sites. This coral-fringed island is also great for shark diving, featuring sharks at most dive sites. Fans of smaller critters will also be pleased, with colorful mandarinfish, pipefish and plenty of other macro highlights around. The easy currents and warm water make Yap diving suitable for all divers. The best time to dive Yap is during manta-mating season from December to April.

Once you’ve had your fill of Yap diving, hop over to Pohnpei. the ‘Garden Island.’ This rainforest-covered island has lush stretches of mangroves teeming with marine life, including abundant eagle rays and mantas. You can dive with all-black mantas and explore 11 marine protected areas with almost no one else around.

Kosrae completes these island gems, offering drop-offs, hard-coral gardens and sandy bottoms dotted with coral bommies. There is great muck diving as well, and technical divers can enjoy deep dive sites and WWII plane wrecks. Dive Kosrae and you’ll likely find yourself in the company of Micronesia’s manta rays and reef sharks, plus schools of tuna and giant trevally.

Divers and writers at LiveAboard.com contributed this article.

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vacationsoup · 7 years ago

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Our Top 10 List of Things to Do in Marco Island

Our guests at Sea Mar Condo want fun, relaxation, and a nice place to stay on their vacation. We’ve put together a top 10 list of things to do in Marco Island and we provide a nice, clean, penthouse condo for relaxation.

There is no doubt that Marco Island beach vacations are the best! The island is the perfect place for that romantic getaway, a girl’s trip, or a family vacation. There’s something for everyone on the island called “Paradise”.

The Island’s Beautiful Beaches

South (Crescent) Beach, Marco Island, FL

Marco Island has miles of beautiful white sand beaches, turquoise Gulf waters, beautiful sunsets, and wonderful seafood! There are also wildlife refuges to explore, fishing and water excursions, shopping, and even a historical museum to visit, And if you still have some time left after all these adventures, maybe a day trip to the spa is just what you need!

Marco Island is just 15 miles south of Naples and is the northern most island in the 10,000 islands at the southern tip of Southwest Florida. The island features 2 public beaches, Tigertail and South (Crescent) beach and 2 private beaches (Hideaway Beach and Resident’s Beach on its west side. Off the island’s east side are pristine mangrove estuaries and access points to Everglades National Park.

Here is our “Top 10” List of things to do in Marco Island:

1. South (Crescent) Beach

Crescent Beach is 3 1/2 miles of pristine white sand beach along the western coast of Marco Island perfect for walking, relaxation, or water sports. Sea Mar Condo (www.seamarcondo.com) overlooks Crescent Beach from the north end of the island.

2. Tigertail Beach/Lagoon

Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL

Tigertail Beach is located in close walking distance from Sea Mar Condo. This beach area surrounds a lagoon, which can also be seen from our condo. Tigertail Beach Park is a clean, well kept park where you can rent kayaks, paddleboards, and beach trikes to explore the lagoon area which is beautiful with heron and ibis nesting along its banks. There is also a small cafe there serving breakfast and lunch. By either crossing the lagoon or by walking around it, you can get to Tigertail Beach, with its blinding white sand and blue-green water – and be sure to find the shell tree and leave your imprint on the island.

Above, Gloria has just taken her first stand-up paddle board lesson with much success – she didn’t fall off once. I took the picture while kayaking in Tigertail Lagoon on a girl’s fun morning out adventure. The folks at Tigertail Beach Rentals are great at giving lessons in paddle boarding and kayaking (included in the rental price).

Tigertail Beach Rentals (239) 389-8414 , http://www.tigertailbeach.net (Ask about their morning specials)

3. Amazing Sunsets

Marco Island at Sunset

What is prettier than a Marco Island sunset? Whether sitting on the beach or dining at one of the island’s beachfront restaurants, it is the perfect end to the day. Our favorite places on the island to see the sunset is in front of our condo on Tigertail Beach, the Sunset Grill located on the south end of Crescent Beach at the Apollo, Mangos at the Esplanade, CJs at the Esplanade and Quinns on the Beach at the JW Marriott. Quinns even has a fire dancer just after sunset and the show is great for both adults and kids.

4. Shelling

Shells found on Marco Island

Shelling is a fun experience, but plan for it and allow time for gathering your treasures. If you plan to walk across a sand bar, start 2 hours before low tide to give yourself plenty of time before high tides pose a problem for returning home. Have comfortable water shoes and sunscreen and bring a mesh bag or shelling bucket to carry your shells in. DO NOT take live shells – it is illegal on Marco Island. Shelling is best in the Tigertail Beach area, but Crescent Beach has many shells as well.

Tide Chart can be found at http://www.marcoweather.com

5. Marco Island Princess

Marco Island Princess

The beautiful 90′ Marco Island Princess is an excellent way to see parts of the island from the water, sailing daily from Rose Marina, 951 Bald Eagle Drive. The Marco Island Princess offers sightseeing, nature and history, dinner and sunset cruises. While cruising enjoy playful dolphins and beautiful views of the island and waterfront homes. Sunshine Tours & Charters (239) 642-5415

Check their website http://marcoislandprincess.com for schedules and coupons.

6. Key West Express

Key West Express

There’s nothing better than boating though the Gulf waters on a fast ferry heading south to the beautiful and entertaining island of Key West. The ferry boards from 7:00 am to 8:00 am and departs at 8:30 am from Rose Marian, 951 Bald Eagle Drive. It takes approximately 3 hours to get to Key West where you can eat lunch and sight see for a few hours before either returning home later in the evening or staying overnight to return the next day.

Key West Express http://keywestexpress.net (239) 463-5733

Everglades National Park

Everglades National Park is a must see for visitors to the Marco Island area. Whether by jet ski through the 10,000 islands, a short drive to Everglades City to take an airboat ride through the mangroves and grasslands, or a swamp buggy tour above the marshes of the cypress forest it is a fun day’s adventure. You will learn about the Everglades plants and animals and it is not unusual to spot alligators, raccoons, and rare birds. For the children, there is also an animal sanctuary, which is home to tigers, panthers, a lion, turtles, otters, snakes, crocodiles and over 100 alligators.

Captain Jack’s Airboat Tours. 200 Collier Ave, Everglades City, FL 34139. 1-(877)-663-2031 http://www.captainjacksairboattours.com

Captain Ron’s Everglades Adventures (jet ski tour). Leaves from Caxambas Park Marina, 909 Collier Court. http://www.evergladesjetskitours.com (239) 777-9975

8. Shopping

5th Avenue South Naples Shopping

Fifth Avenue south in nearby Naples is a Main Street of fashion boutique shops, gourmet restaurants, coffee and ice cream shops (Kilwin’s), art galleries, and gift stores. It has become a popular place for visitors to stroll along the nicely landscaped promenades and enjoy sidewalk dining. On Marco Island, The Esplanade Shoppes, located on North Collier Blvd is a coastal Italian-style village consisting of upscale retailers and small specialty stores. The Marco Walk Plaza, located at the intersection of South Collier Blvd and Winterberry Drive combines a collection of specialty shops, salons and spas, and a variety of dining options. Olde Marco also has some nice little gift and unique speciality shops.

9. Bird Watching, Sea Life, and Fishing

The Roseate Spoonbill is just one of Marco Island’s Beautiful Birds

Tigertail Beach is home to soft white sand, a variety of shells, dolphins swimming off shore, ospreys squealing overhead and so many shore birds that it’s a stop on the Great Florida Birding Trail. Adjacent to Tigertail Beach Park is Big Marco Pass Critical Wildlife area, managed by the state and a resting site for a variety of migratory shorebirds. Three species – black skimmers, snowy plovers and least terns – nest and raise their young in the protected area of Tigertail. Around Marco Island and the Everglades, the mangroves fill with white and brown pelicans, roseate spoonbills, white ibises, great blue herons, green herons, snowy egrets, red-shouldered hawks, bald eagles and ospreys.

The waters off Marco Island are alive with the full cast of the Gulf of Mexico’s tropical sea life. Species include sea turtles, dolphin, manatee, and spadefish. Manatees inhabit the waters around Marco Island and it is not unusual to see these beautiful sea cows in the inlets around the inland. It is very common to see dolphins playing in the waters off Crescent Beach.

Loggerhead sea Turtles begin nesting on the island between May and August and 60 days after a nest is laid, baby turtles emerge from the nest in the dark and crawl to the water (between July and October). When walking the beach, be sure to look for the yellow taped nests that mark the turtle nesting areas. Did you know that research managers check each nest daily to record nest activity?

Dolphin Explorer – This is a great adventure for kids and adults! The Dolphin Explorer a first class experience. In fact, USA Today has named The Dolphin Explorer one of the top 3 things to do on Marco Island. They are also featured in the “National Geographic” book “100 Places That Can Change Your Child’s Life: From Your Backyard to the Ends of the Earth”. (239) 642-6899 http://www.dolphin-study.com

Hemingway Water Shuttle (239) 315-1136 http://www.hemingwatershuttle.com

Avi’s Watersports (239) 777-9873 http://www.aviwatersports.com

Back Water Adventure Marco Island (239) 877-4531 http://www.backwateradventure.com

Fishing on Marco Island Marco Island Florida – lies in the midst of some of the world’s best game fishing waters. Angling in the vicinity of two of the artificial reefs – each a mile by a half mile in size – built in 20 feet of water a mile offshore and in 30 feet of water about 5 miles out, has met with great success. Tarpon, Snook, grouper, Kingfish, Mackeral, Redfish, Sheepshead, Pompano and shark are among the many different species of fish caught in these waters.

Before you go fishing, Florida regulations require that you have a saltwater or fresh water fishing license, unless you are angling from a charter boat or vessel which already has the appropriate licenses. Florida and Marco Island residents need a fishing license only if fishing from a boat other than a licensed charter boat. Exceptions: any resident over 65 or under 16. Licenses good for one year, are required for both salt and fresh water fishing. Non-Florida residents 16 and over must obtain either a three-day, seven-day or one-year licenses. For more up to date information about licenses, contact the Collier County Tax Collector’s offices, 1040 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island, Florida or call (239)-394-6986.

To see a Fishing Species Chart for Marco Island, click on this link:

http://www.fishingmarcoisland.com/fishing-species.htm

10. Dining on Marco Island

The Snook Inn, Marco Island, FL

Magical and mystical, Marco Island is a tropical paradise. Color splashed sunsets on sparkling Gulf waters and a white sand beach. What could be more relaxing than dining in this setting in a casual atmosphere with live beach music?

Restaurants on the island offer diversified cuisine and many serve Florida’s freshest seafood (“today’s catch”) – jumbo shrimp, sweet scallops, succulent crabs and grouper. If you enjoy fishing, some restaurants will even prepare your catch of the day for dinner. Many of Marco Island’s restaurants offer on the water or on the beach dining. Our condo provides a coffee table book listing many island restaurants and copies of menus to help with your dining selections.

Some of our favorites…..Note: ($$$) is more pricey, but great for special occasions.

The World Famous Snook Inn (pictured), 1215 Bald Eagle Dr. (239) 394-3313 http://www.snookinn.com

Sunset Grille at the Apollo (great for sunsets), 900 S Collier Blvd. (239) 393-8433 http://www.sunsetgrilleonmarcoisland.com

Sand Bar (sports bar w/great seafood and burgers), 826 E Elkcam Circle (239) 642-3625 http://sandbarmarco.com

CJ’s on the Bay (at the Esplanade), 740 N Collier Blvd (239) 389-4511 http://cjsonthebay.com

Marco Island Princess (dinner cruise) Rose Marina, 951 Bald Eagle Dr. (239) 642-5415 http://themarcoislandprincess.com

Nacho Mama’s (Mexican) 599 S Collier Blvd (239) 389-2222 http://thenachomamas.com

Tigertail Beach Cafe (breakfast/lunch) close walk on beach from condo (239) 394-8828 http://www.tigertailbeach.net

Doreen’s Cup of Joe (great breakfast/lunch), 267 N. Collier Blvd (239) 394-2600 http://doreenscupofjoe.com

Red Rooster (breakfast/lunch), 1821 San Marco Rd, (239) 394-3100 http://redroostermarco.com

Sweet Annie’s of Marco (ice cream), 692 Bald Eagle Dr. (239) 642-7180

Mango’s, 760 N Collier Blvd #109 (at the Esplanade) (239) 393-2433 http://mangosdocksidebistro.com

Dolphin Tiki Bar & grill, 1021 Anglers Cove (239) 394-4048 http://dolphintikibar.com

Marco Island Brewery, 1089 N Collier Blvd (239) 970-0461 http://marcoislandbrewery.com

The Oyster Society ($$$), 599 S Collier Blvd (239) 394-3474 http://theoystersociety.com

Fin Bistro ($$$), 657 S Collier Blvd (239) 970-6064 http://finbistro.com

Marco Prime Steak & Seafood ($$$) 599 S Collier Blvd (239) 389-2333 http://marcoprime.com

Sale e Pepe ($$$), 480 S Collier Blvd (239)393-1600 http://sale-e-pepe.com

Da Vinci’s ($$$) (Italian), 599 S Collier Blvd (239) 389-1888 http://ristorantedayinci.com

Be Our Guests at Sea Mar Condo

Sea Mar Condo, located at South Seas Resort on the north end of Marco Island is a 19th floor penthouse condo overlooking beautiful Crescent Beach. We welcome you to be our guests and enjoy everything that Marco Island has to offer.

Visit our website at www.seamarcondo to see our rates and availability. In addition to “Our Top 10 List of Things to do on Marco Island, our website also provides lots more information on Sea Mar Condo and Marco Island. Let us help you make the most of your Marco Island vacation! www.seamarcondo.com

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zillowcondo · 7 years ago

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15 Sarasota Museums and Tourist Attractions You’ll Love

Florida is famous for its theme parks but there’s lots more to do in this photogenic region. For example, there are some fantastic Sarasota museums that you really shouldn’t miss. It’s no surprise that the county is known as Florida’s Cultural Coast®. We’ve rounded up our favourite tourist attractions in Sarasota County for young and old.

Sarasota Museums

The Ringling

The Ringling is the State Art Museum of Florida and an exceptional cultural and educational centre. It’s the legacy of John and Mable Ringling and located within the 66 acre grounds of their Winter estate. John Ringling was the founder of the Ringling Bros. circus and later became the co-owner of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. The Ringling has an interactive Circus Museum and the miniature 44,000 piece Howard Bros. circus model. There’s also a pink Renaissance style Museum of Art, commissioned by John Ringling. It has an impressive collection of European paintings and Asian art, as well as temporary outdoor sculptures by artists such as Ai Wei Wei.

Visitors should not miss Ca’ d’ Zan, the former home of John and Mable Ringling. The name means House of John in the Venetian dialect and the decor was inspired by their frequent trips to Italy. Next to it, you’ll find Mable Ringling’s pride and joy, her Rose Garden. It’s the oldest rose garden in continual use in Florida and dates from 1913.

The Ringling has many other treasures including the 18th century Asolo Theater from Italy and the new Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion.

Opening hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily, until 8 pm on Thursdays. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota, FL 34243

Sarasota Classic Car Museum

There’s a wonderful selection of cars at the Sarasota Classic Car Museum, representing 100 years of automobile history. It’s the second oldest continually operating antique car museum in the United States. The collection features well known cars belonging to stars including John Lennon’s 1965 Mercedes Benz and Paul McCartney’s Mini Cooper. You can also see the Rolls Royce cars that belonged to John and Mable Ringling as well as many rotating exhibits.

Opening hours: 9 am to 6 pm, Monday to Sunday. Closed on Christmas Day.

5500 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34243

Art Center Sarasota

With four galleries, Art Center Sarasota provides creative opportunities to the whole community. They run youth programs including Creative Kids Saturday Classes and the Creative Kids Summer Art Camp. The exhibitions focus on local and regional art, showcasing many emerging and established talents.

Opening hours: 10 am to 4 pm, Monday to Saturday

707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL

Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium

This iconic Sarasota museum plays an important role in wildlife conservation. Mote Marine has helped to rehabilitate many injured sea creatures such as manatees and turtles. In fact, they hold regular turtle spotting walks at a nearby beach in season. The Washed Ashore art exhibit features sharks and turtles made from plastic and other debris, in order to educate visitors on how to keep rubbish out of the ocean.

Mote scientists are leading 25 research programs including finding new ways to restore coral reefs. They’re also training local diver and snorkeler volunteers as part of their BleachWatch program to detect bleaching on coral, an early warning sign of damage.

There are over 100 species of fish and marine animals at Mote, as well as a 135,000 gallon shark habitat. Visitors can see inside some of the working labs such as the Seahorse Conservation Laboratory, through glass walls. Staff and volunteers are also on hand to answer your questions.

Opening hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily

1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy, Sarasota, FL 34236

Crowley Museum & Nature Center

A great place to discover more about pioneer history, Crowley Museum & Nature Center is fun for all the family. There’s a half-mile boardwalk which leads visitors through 5 different Florida habitats and a two story observation tower overlooking the Myakka river. The Children’s Discovery Path has five interactive stations with fun activities to get involved in. The museum itself houses some interesting pioneer artefacts and there’s also a sugar cane mill and a birding trail.

Opening hours: 10 am to 5 pm in fair weather, from Saturday to Sunday

9192, 16405 Myakka Rd, Sarasota, FL 34240

Historic Spanish Point

Spread over 30 acres, Historic Spanish Point is a fascinating insight into Floridian pre-history. Its one of the largest intact archaeological sites on the Gulf Coast from the prehistoric period. The Window to the Past exhibition is the only place in the United States where you can go inside a prehistoric shell midden or mound.

There’s also one of the largest butterfly gardens in Florida and many different natural habitats, with over 50% of the county’s native plants being represented here. Chicago socialite Bertha Palmer established a homestead here in 1910 and you can visit three of her gardens.

Opening hours: 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Saturday and 12 – 5 pm on Sundays

337 N Tamiami Trail, Osprey, FL 34229

Save our Seabirds

Housing over 120 birds in their 3 acre site, Save our Seabirds aims to rehabilitate injured birds and to educate the public on how to minimize environmental risks to them. Their Birdwalk shows visitors how each species has adapted to its natural environment, and the Wild Bird Learning Center has some interesting educational displays.

Opening hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily

1708 Ken Thompson Pkwy, Sarasota, FL 34236

Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy

This colourful museum features quirky paintings and sculptures galore, as well as a tranquil garden. The Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy is the passion project of local artist Marietta Lee. Some of her works are exhibited here as well as those of many other unique artists. What makes this place so special is the warm welcome that the volunteers give to visitors. They’ll provide you with as much or as little information as you want on the artworks.

Marietta herself is often at the museum to lend a hand. Even the restrooms here are works of art. There’s no café or gift shop but there is a kitchen manned by volunteers which gives you complimentary cookies and soft drinks. As entrance to the museum is free, donations are greatly appreciated.

Opening hours: 1 – 4 pm Thursdays to Saturdays and from November to May

2121 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34234

The Ringling College of Art + Design

With over 50 exhibitions each year, all of which are free, the Ringling College of Art + Design is a key fixture on the Sarasota arts scene. Since opening more than 85 years ago, it’s helped students to develop their creative skills. These days its renowned for its computer animation programs.

Opening hours: 10 am to 4 pm, Monday to Friday

2700 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34234

Venice Museum & Archives

Housed in Triangle Inn which dates from 1927 the Venice Museum & Archives has a vast collection of over 30,000 objects and photographs. There are some interesting exhibits including a giant Megalodon shark and one on auto racing in Venice from 1953 to 1960.

Opening hours: 10 am to 4 pm from Monday to Wednesday, and 11 am to 3 pm on the 1st and 3rd Saturday from October to April

351 Nassau St S, Venice, FL 34285

Sarasota Tourist Attractions

The Children’s Garden

One of the most popular things to do in Sarasota with kids is to visit The Children’s Garden. There are fun storybook readings and many other activities like weekly art and gardening classes. A maze, pirate ship, secret garden, tree fort and three little pigs’ house are just some of the attractions.

Opening hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily

1670 10th Way, Sarasota, FL 34236

Unconditional Surrender

This huge statue by Seward Johnson commemorates the end of the Second World War and is said to be inspired by a photograph by Victor Jorgensen. The original bronze statue was created in 2005 with the help of computer technology and damaged by a car in 2012. It was replaced by the current statue in 2013.

Island Park Drive, Sarasota, FL 34236

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

With a magnificent setting on the shores of Sarasota Bay, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is one of the most popular Sarasota attractions. Voted among the top places to visit in Sarasota by TripAdvisor, it’s the only botanical garden in the world specialized in the study and display of epiphytes. If you’re wondering what epiphytes are, they’re plants that grow on other plants. Orchids, moss and many ferns are some of the best known examples. There’s a charming tea room and a gift shop as well as 15 acres of exotic flowers and plants to admire.

The children’s rainforest garden has a rope bridge, outdoor musical instruments and play area. The museum itself has some interesting temporary exhibitions, including Warhol: Flowers in the Factory, celebrating the role of nature in Andy Warhol’s art.

Opening hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily. Closed on Christmas Day

900 S. Palm Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236

Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Feeding flamingos by hand and talking to the resident parrots are just two of the fun things to do at Sarasota Jungle Gardens. There’s an interesting shell museum, a gift shop and café in their 10 acre grounds.

Opening hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily. Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day

3701 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota, FL 34234

Saraosota Opera

Sarasota Opera one of the foremost opera companies in the United States, celebrating its 58th season. The building dates from the 1920s and was formerly the Edwards Theatre, once playing host to Elvis Presley. It’s since been extensively renovated and is open to the public for tours – a fascinating behind the scenes experience.

Tour opening hours: Mondays when the opera is in season, at 10.30 am

61 N Pineapple Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236

In addition to visiting these amazing Sarasota museums and tourist attractions, take time to explore the other sights in this great Florida county. There are some incredible Sarasota beaches – one of them was even voted best beach in the USA by TripAdvisor and Dr Beach. You’ll also want to check out the wide range of Sarasota restaurants, from farm to table to gourmet dining. Fans of culture will love the art galleries on Palm Avenue in downtown Sarasota, while antique lovers will enjoy the colourful Burns Court area. You may find our guide to other Sarasota attractions helpful.

Pin for later or share with friends if you’ve found this useful

In association with Visit Florida and Visit Sarasota

The post 15 Sarasota Museums and Tourist Attractions You’ll Love appeared first on Luxury Columnist.

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ustribunenews-blog · 7 years ago

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Special Marine Warning issued September 2 at 3:41PM EDT expiring September 2 at 4:45PM EDT by NWS Tampa Bay Ruskin FL

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a special marine warningfor Tampa Bay waters; Coastal waters from Englewood to Tarpon Springs FL out 20 NM; Waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 to 60 NM; Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM; Waters from Englewood to Tarpon Springs FL out 20 to 60 NM starting on 9/2/2018 12:41:00 PM. NWS estimates this event…

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jimdsmith34 · 7 years ago

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The Latest on Hurricane Irma

St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Irma (all times local):

12:15 a.m.

The National Hurricane Center says the core of Irma is now nearing Tampa in an area south of Lakeland — a community inland and to the east of the heavily populated Tampa Bay region.

A hurricane center update at midnight said Irma remained a Category 2 hurricane with top sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) and was located about 25 miles (35 kilometers) south of Lakeland.

The storm is moving north at 14 mph (22 kph).

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10:55 p.m.

Hurricane Irma remains a dangerous Category 2 hurricane despite weakening a bit more to 100 mph (160 kph). It's now bearing down on the Tampa-St. Petersburg region.

The National Hurricane Center said Irma's eye was about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Tampa near 11 p.m. Sunday and moving at a fast clip of 14 mph (22 kph). Still a large hurricane, its tropical storm force winds extend out 415 miles (665 kilometers).

Forecasters say they expert Irma's center to stay inland over Florida and then move into Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

They also expect Irma to weaken further into a tropical storm over far northern Florida or southern Georgia on Monday as it speeds up its forward motion. The hurricane center says the storm is still life-threatening with dangerous storm surge, wind and heavy rains.

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10:05 p.m.

A third construction crane has toppled in Florida in the powerful winds of Hurricane Irma.

Officials say it happened at a project on Fort Lauderdale beach during the storm Sunday.

Officials with developer The Related Group told the Sun-Sentinel the crane collapse caused no injuries and did not appear to damage anything else.

Two other cranes toppled earlier in Miami as Irma swirled up the state.

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9:25 p.m.

Miami International Airport has announced it will be closed Monday and begin only limited flights on Tuesday.

Orlando International Airport closed Saturday and won't reopen to passenger traffic until after Hurricane Irma has passed, a damage assessment has been completed, necessary recovery efforts made and the airlines are consulted to determine when best to resume operations.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport says on its website it has no timetable yet to reopen. Its last flights were Friday.

Tampa International Airport also is closed as Hurricane Irma moves up the Florida peninsula.

Airlines are preparing their recovery schedules, which may take several days to execute.

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9:05 p.m.

The county administrator in the Florida Keys says crews will begin house to house searches Monday morning, looking for people who need help and assessing damage from Hurricane Irma.

Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi says relief will arrive on a C-130 military plane Monday morning at the Key West International Airport.

Once it's light out, they'll check on survivors. They suspect they may find fatalities.

Gastesi says they are "prepared for the worst."

Hurricane Irma made landfall Sunday morning in Cudjoe Key.

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8:55 p.m.

The U.S. Departments of State and Defense are working on evacuation flights from Sint Maarten after Hurricane Irma.

Officials say U.S. citizens in need of evacuation should shelter in place until Monday, listening for radio updates, and then go to the airport by noon, bringing proof of citizenship and just one small bag.

The State Department adds that a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ship has left the island.

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8:45 p.m.

More than 3.3 million homes and businesses — and counting — have lost power in Florida as Hurricane Irma moves up the peninsula.

The widespread outages stretch from the Florida Keys all the way into central Florida.

Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electric utility, said there were nearly 1 million customers without power in Miami-Dade County alone.

The power outages are expected to increase as the storm edges further north.

There are roughly 7 million residential customers in the state. (edited)

8:30 p.m.

Hurricane Irma's top sustained winds have dropped to 105 mph. That's still a Category 2 storm, meaning extensive damage will occur.

Masters says that if Irma's center had shifted just 20 miles to the north as it moved past Cuba, it could have hit the mainland United States as a Category 5.

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8 p.m.

Two manatees were stranded after Hurricane Irma sucked the water out of Sarasota Bay, in Florida's Manatee County.

Several people posted photos of the mammals on Facebook Sunday, hoping rescue workers or wildlife officials would respond. Michael Sechler posted that the animals were far too massive to be lifted, so they gave them water.

Marcelo Clavijo posted that a group of people eventually loaded the manatees onto tarps and dragged them to deeper water.

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7:45 p.m.

Hurricane Irma set all sorts of records for brute strength before crashing into Florida, flattening islands in the Caribbean and swamping the Florida Keys.

It finally hit the mainland as a big wide beast, but not quite as monstrous as once feared. The once-Category 5 storm lost some of its power on the northern Cuba coast.

It's still raking Florida with devastating storm surges, winds and rain. Its top sustained winds are now 110 mph (177 kph) and the center of the storm is about 15 miles (25 kilometers) inland from Fort Myers.

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7:30 p.m.

It's been difficult to determine the extent of damage Hurricane Irma caused in the Florida Keys, where communication has been difficult and authorities are warning boaters and drivers to stay away.

But The Associated Press has been texting with John Huston, who has been riding out the storm in his house on Key Largo, on the Atlantic side of the island, just south of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

Every few minutes during the height of the storm, he sent another dispatch.

He described whiteout conditions, with howling winds that sucked dry the gulf side of the narrow island, where the tide is usually 8 feet deep. He kept his humor though, texting to "send cold beer" at one point. Now he sees furniture floating down the street with small boats.

He says the storm surge was at least 6 feet deep on his island, 76 miles from Irma's eye. He can see now that structures survived, but the storm left a big mess at ground level.

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7 p.m.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office says water began leaking through the roof at the Germain Arena shelter in Estero just as the eye of Hurricane Irma drew near.

Thousands of evacuees have crowded into the minor-league hockey stadium, which seats about 8,400 people and is being used as a shelter.

The sheriff's office posted on Facebook that authorities are monitoring the problem.

6:50 p.m.

Florida officials are urging people to stay in their homes and shelters, even if it looks like Hurricane Irma has passed.

Miami-Dade County spokesman Mike Hernandez said he's seen reports of people leaving the county's hurricane shelters. It's too early for that, he says: "Just because it seems like the weather is clearing up, that doesn't mean it's safe to get out on the roads.

Miami Dade remains under curfew, much of it without electricity, and with downed power lines, flooding and poor visibility, moving around could be deadly.

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6:45 p.m.

An airborne relief mission is bringing emergency supplies to the Florida Keys, where Hurricane Irma made landfall Sunday morning.

Monroe County spokeswoman Cammy Clark said help is coming in C-130 cargo planes and other air resources.

Monroe County Emergency Management Director Martin Senterfitt calls it a humanitarian crisis.

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6:30 p.m.

Hurricane Irma should be moving directly over the Tampa Bay area around midnight. Residents of the highly populated area are fearing the worst.

A report by CoreLogic, the global property data firm, found nearly 455,000 Tampa Bay homes could be damaged by storm surges, the most of any major US metro area other than Miami and New York. Rebuilding those homes could cost $81 billion.

The reason Tampa Bay is so vulnerable is that the bay acts as a funnel for storm surges, forcing water into narrow channels with nowhere else to go.

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6:20 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center reports water levels are rising rapidly in Naples from Hurricane Irma's storm surge. A federal tide gauge in Naples reported a 7 foot rise of water in just 90 minutes.

A wind gust of 142 mph (229 kph) was recorded at the Naples Municipal Airport as the storm kept its top sustained wind speed of 110 mph (175 kph).

Irma has picked up forward speed and is moving inland at 14 mph (22 kph) and its eye is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south southeast of Fort Myers.

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6:10 p.m.

Lauren Durham and Michael Davis had big plans for a beach wedding this month. Hurricane Irma had bigger plans.

So instead of a poofy white dress, Durham got married in her Air National Guard fatigues, with no makeup, in a vast hangar filled with rescue vehicles in Orlando. Davis is a senior airman in the guard, like his bride, so they had called to say they'd miss their own wedding.

Then on Sunday, a friend joked that they should get married during the hurricane. Dozens of people helped out, and a fellow guard member happens to be a notary and officiated. Someone even came up with a bouquet of flowers.

The happy couple believes in service before self, and besides, they figure it'll be a great story to tell their kids one day.

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6 p.m.

President Donald Trump has declared a major disaster in the state of Florida, making federal aid available to people affected by Hurricane Irma in nine counties already hit by the storm.

The federal help includes temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans for uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover in the counties of Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pinellas, and Sarasota.

Federal funding also is available to governments and non-profit organizations for emergencies in all 67 Florida counties. For the first 30 days, that money will cover 100 percent of the costs of some emergency responses.

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5:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. may have gotten a "little bit lucky" after Hurricane Irma veered from its original course and headed west along Florida's coast.

He says Irma may not have been quite as destructive as a result, but that things will play out over the next several hours.

Trump addressed reporters Sunday after returning to the White House from Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland where he spent the weekend monitoring the storm.

Trump says Irma will cost "a lot of money" but he isn't thinking about that right now.

He says "right now, we're worried about lives, not cost."

Trump says he'll be having additional meetings about coordination for the storm response.

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5:15 p.m.

Hurricane Irma has weakened to a Category 2 storm, technically losing its major hurricane status, after making landfall in southwestern Florida. It is over land but hugging the coast as it moves north.

The National Hurricane Center said Irma's winds were at 110 mph (177 kph), just below major hurricane status, as the center of the still dangerous and wide storm moved farther inland. It was 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of Naples late Sunday afternoon. It came ashore on Marco Island at 3:35 p.m.

The hurricane center says "although weakening is forecast, Irma is expected to remain a hurricane at least through Monday morning."

The hurricane center says the eye of Irma should hug Florida's west coast through Monday morning and then push more inland over northern Florida and southwestern Georgia on Monday afternoon. The forecast puts the storm generally over the populated Tampa-St. Petersburg region a couple hours after midnight into Monday morning.

Jeff Masters is meteorology director of the private Weather Underground. He says the fact that the storm approached the Tampa region from over land and from the south could slightly reduce the expected storm surge, although he says it will still be dangerous.

Irma is producing deluges of 2 to 4 inches (5 to 13 centimeters) of rain an hour, which can cause flash flooding.

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5:15 p.m.

The storm surge near Cudjoe Key may be flooding the nearby Florida Key Deer Refuge, home to fewer than 1,000 of the endangered Key deer.

The unique subspecies of white-tailed deer about 3 feet (1 meter) tall at the shoulder, the size of a large dog, but wildlife officials were not immediately concerned that the herd had been lost to floodwaters.

Dan Clark is refuge manager for the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges Complex. He says the deer are "excellent swimmers."

Clark evacuated his staff Wednesday, and he spoke with The Associated Press by phone from Pinellas County.

He says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff planned to return as soon as weather permitted to begin assessing how the deer and other endangered species fared throughout the narrow, low-lying island chain.

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5:15 p.m.

Police in Florida have arrested nine people who were caught on TV cameras looting sneakers and other goods from a sporting goods store and a pawn shop during Hurricane Irma.

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione said the group was arrested Sunday as the storm roared across South Florida. Maglione called the idea of stealing sneakers during a hurricane "a fairly bad life choice."

Local TV images showed the alleged looters running in and out of a store through a broken window carrying boxes of sneakers.

It wasn't immediately clear what charges those arrested would face. Their identities also were not immediately released.

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5:15 p.m.

South Florida Water Management District chief engineer John Mitnik says it will probably be 7 p.m. Sunday before the storm surge in Miami completely subsides. He said the district is prepared for the storm surge expected on the Gulf coast and will have crews out repairing canals and drainage equipment as soon as it is safe.

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5:15 p.m.

Wildlife officials say Florida residents and visitors should stay away from sea turtle nests and refrain from any attempts to save them from Hurricane Irma.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says in a news release that the public must not interfere with any sea turtle eggs, even if they think they're helping.

Officials say sea turtles have a nesting strategy that accommodates natural storm events, with each female depositing several nests throughout the season. No storm season is a total loss for Florida's sea turtles. Even in 2004, when Florida sustained direct hits from several hurricanes, officials say 42 percent of state's loggerhead nests hatched, well within the normal range.

Anyone who sees exposed turtle eggs or nests should contact wildlife officials.

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5:15 p.m.

Officials are warning boaters to stay away from the Florida Keys in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Monroe County spokeswoman Cammy Clark said in an email Sunday evening that nearshore waters are filled with navigation hazards like debris, sunken boats, loose boats, buoys and markers.

Residents with boats already in the Keys should avoid driving them in the nearshore waters.

Hurricane Irma made landfall Sunday morning in Cudjoe Key.

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4:30 p.m.

The Marco Island police department is warning people who didn't evacuate to get to higher floors in their buildings.

The department issued the warning in a tweet on Sunday just as Hurricane Irma made landfall on the island.

Forecasts have called for life-threatening storm surge of up to 15 feet (4.5 meters) along the coast.

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4:30 p.m.

The University of Miami will not reopen either its main campus in Coral Gables or its Marine campus before Sept. 18 while it assesses the damage caused by Hurricane Irma.

The school says it is "proactively planning the recovery process." Numerous out-of-state students went back home last week to wait out the storm and it remains unclear when they will even be able to travel back to South Florida.

Miami's annual football rivalry game with Florida State has already been pushed back to Oct. 7. It had been scheduled for Sept. 16 in Tallahassee, the state capital that is also in Irma's projected path.

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4:30 p.m.

Electric car maker Tesla says it has temporarily increased the battery capacity of some of its cars to help drivers escaping Hurricane Irma.

The electric car maker said the battery boost was applied to Model S and X cars in the Southeast. Some drivers only buy 60 or 70 kilowatt hours of battery capacity, but a software change will give them access to 75 kilowatt hours of battery life until Saturday. Depending on the model, that could let drivers travel about 40 more miles before they would need to recharge their cars.

Tesla said it made the change after a customer asked the company for help evacuating. The company said it's possible it will make similar changes in response to similar events in the future.

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3:45 p.m.

Hurricane Irma has made landfall on Marco Island, Florida, as a Category 3 hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Irma's powerful eye roared ashore at Marco Island just south of Naples with 115-mph (185-kph) winds, for a second U.S. landfall at 3:35 p.m. Sunday.

Category 3 storms have winds from 111 to 129 mph, but 130-mph (21-kph) wind gust was recently reported by the Marco Island Police Department.

Irma's second U.S. landfall was tied for the 21st strongest landfall in the U.S. based on central pressure. Irma's first U.S. landfall in the Florida Keys was tied for 7th.

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3:30 p.m.

More than 2.1 million customers have lost power in Florida with Hurricane Irma striking the state.

Florida Power & Light reported the numbers Sunday afternoon. The utility, which services much of south Florida, says more than 845,000 of those customers are in Miami-Dade County.

Duke Energy, the dominant utility in the northern half of Florida, has about 13,000 outages with the outer bands of Irma sweeping across the region.

The power companies say they have extra crews on hand to try to restore power — when it becomes safe to do so.

FPL spokesman Rob Gould says an estimated 3.4 million homes and businesses will lose power once the worst of Irma reaches the Florida mainland.

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3:30 p.m.

Hurricane Irma is affecting the House of Representative's work schedule in Washington.

A notice from the House majority leader's office says the House now doesn't plan to take any votes Monday because of "the large number of absences" as a result of the storm.

The first votes of the week are expected Tuesday evening.

The House leadership will keep tabs on the situation and announce updates as necessary.

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3:15 p.m.

The eye of Hurricane Irma is nearing Naples, Florida, and continues to cause destruction over a wide swath of South Florida.

The National Hurricane Center said Irma had winds of 120 mph (195 kilometers) and was centered 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of Naples on Sunday afternoon. It was moving north at 12 mph (19 kilometers per hour). At that rate, the center of the storm should come ashore sometime between 4 and 5 p.m.

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3:30 p.m.

Hurricane Irma has pushed water out of a bay in Tampa, but forecasters are telling people not to venture out there, because it's going to return with a potentially deadly vengeance.

On Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, approximately 100 people were walking Sunday afternoon on what was Old Tampa Bay — a body of water near downtown. Hurricane Irma's winds and low tide have pushed the water unusually far from its normal position. Some people are venturing as far as 200 yards (180 meters) out to get to the water's new edge. The water is normally about 4 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) deep and reaches a seawall.

The U.S. Hurricane Center has sent out an urgent alert warning of a "life-threatening storm surge inundation of 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 meters) above ground level" and telling people to "MOVE AWAY FROM THE WATER!"

The waters retracted because the leading wind bands of Irma whipped the coastal water more out to sea. But once the eye passes and the wind reverses, the water will rush back in.

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3:30 p.m. Hurricane Irma is affecting the House of Representative's work schedule in Washington.

A notice from the House majority leader's office says the House now doesn't plan to take any votes Monday because of "the large number of absences" as a result of the storm.

The first votes of the week are expected Tuesday evening.

The House leadership will keep tabs on the situaton and announce updates as necessary.

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3:15 p.m.

Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso says a second tower crane has collapsed into a building under construction in the city's downtown area. Alfonso told The Associated Press that the crane collapsed in a large development with multiple towers being built by Grand Paraiso.

Another crane collapsed earlier Sunday onto a high-rise building that's under construction in a bayfront area filled with hotels and high-rise condo and office buildings, near AmericanAirlines Arena. Officials said no one was injured as the result of either crane's collapse.

High winds are impeding Miami authorities' ability to reach the cranes, and authorities are urging people to avoid the areas.

Alfonso says the approximately two-dozen other cranes in the city are still upright and built to withstand significant wind gusts.

The tower cranes working on construction sites throughout the city were a concern ahead of Irma. Moving the massive equipment, weighing up to 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms), is a slow process that would have taken about two weeks, according to city officials.

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2 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center says a slightly weakened but still powerful Irma will slam the Naples and Marco Island with its strongest winds in a couple of hours.

Irma's winds dropped to 120 mph (195 kilometers per hour), down from 130 mph, and forecasters say it should weaken a bit more before landfall. But it still expected to a strong major hurricane as it rakes Florida from its western edges across to the east.

The storm is 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Naples and has picked up speed moving north at 12 mph (19 kilometers per hour).

The now Category 3 hurricane will keep on battering all of South Florida with high wind and surge, forecasters say. The hurricane center in western Miami, across the state from the eye of the mammoth storm, recorded an 81 mph (130 kilometers per hour) wind gust.

"This is a life-threatening situation," the hurricane center posted.

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2 p.m.

An apparent tornado spun off by Hurricane Irma has destroyed six mobile homes in Florida.

Palm Bay Police Department Lt. Mike Bandish said no one was injured in Sunday's tornado, but that a 93-year-old man refused to leave his damaged home. He told Florida Today that officers tried to convince him to leave, but he wouldn't.

Palm Bay is on Florida's central Atlantic Coast near the Kennedy Space Center. The eye of Irma was hundreds of miles away when the tornado struck.

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2 p.m.

Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke says she doesn't have any doubt that the federal government can respond to Hurricane Irma and the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey simultaneously.

Duke spoke Sunday afternoon at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters. Talking about efforts to respond to Irma in Florida and the aftermath of Harvey in Texas she says, "I know we're ready and … I don't have any doubt … that as a federal government we can do this and will do this."

Duke says she and FEMA chief Brock Long spoke earlier Sunday with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence and that they are "absolutely pleased with the response" and that they "understand that we're just getting started in many ways."

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2 p.m.

Some exterior paneling of AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, home of the NBA's Heat, has been damaged by wind. The arena is near the downtown Miami location where a crane snapped as Irma pounded away Sunday. But a team official told The Associated Press that an initial investigation showed no structural damage. They'll investigate further once conditions make it safe for workers to be outside. The Heat do not play in the arena until their preseason opener on Oct. 1.

At Raymond James Stadium in Tampa — where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play football — local, regional and statewide authorities are using the parking lots and surroundings as a staging area for high-water vehicles and equipment. On Saturday afternoon, several U.S. Marine amphibious vehicles were parked side by side, giant tanks that are ready to plunge into floodwater if needed.

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2 p.m.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott says members of his family who evacuated from Naples ahead of Hurricane Irma are leaving again now that it appears the killer storm will descend on the state capital.

Scott's wife, First Lady Ann Scott, as well as his daughter, his son-in-law and grandchildren left southwest Florida and came to the state capital. Scott owns a waterfront mansion in an area that is in the path of the hurricane.

But Scott said Sunday that his daughter and grandchildren will be leaving Tallahassee to go to Washington, D.C. His daughter just gave birth to twins. Scott said it would be "tough for them if we lose power."

The governor said he doesn't know what storm preparations have taken place at the governor's mansion, located a few blocks north of the Capitol. He said he "hasn't really been there" because he has been in other parts of the state or at the state emergency operations center.

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2 p.m.

Major General Michael Calhoun, the head of Florida's National Guard, says that more than 10,000 National Guard members from other states are going to be coming into the state.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has already called up 7,000 members of the Florida National Guard to help with recovery efforts from Hurricane Irma. Those members have been dispatched to shelters around the state and will be involved in handing out supplies in storm-ravaged areas once Irma has passed through.

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2 p.m.

Georgia's governor has declared an emergency for the entire state as Hurricane Irma's approach triggers widespread severe-weather threats, including the first-ever tropical storm warning for Atlanta.

Gov. Nathan Deal's new emergency declaration came Sunday as Irma churned near Florida. The National Hurricane Center predicted the storm's center to cross Monday into southwest Georgia, where a hurricane warning was issued for communities including Albany and Valdosta.

Portions of western Alabama and coastal South Carolina were also under tropical-storm warnings.

The National Weather Service confirmed it had never before issued a tropical-storm warning for Atlanta, where wind gusts could reach 55 mph (88 kph). Meanwhile Savannah and the rest of coastal Georgia were under evacuation orders for the second time since Hurricane Matthew brushed the region last October.

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2 p.m.

More than 500 emergency responders are sleeping on cots in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, waiting to dispatch to areas devastated by Hurricane Irma.

The convention center had planned to host an elevator-industry gathering this weekend. Instead, more than 1,000 emergency vehicles are lined up in its halls: boats, ambulances, fork lifts, buses, 18-wheelers, fire trucks, and 62 helicopters.

Rescue teams from Florida, Colorado, New York, California and Arizona were checking their gear and resting up so that they would be prepared to hit the road as soon as the storm clears. Some of those emergency workers never even made it home from responding to Hurricane Harvey before turning around and deploying to Florida.

Sean Gallagher is with the Florida Forest Service, which is coordinating the staging operation. He says the convention center's loading dock doors will close as soon as the winds in Orlando rise to hurricane levels to protect the vehicles and responders inside and won't open again until the winds die down.

Then, rapid response teams will rush into the most devastated areas to do recognizance and triage where the rescue operations are most needed.

Until then, they are crammed in the convention center's side rooms and cots. The convention center has pallets of 13,000 ready-to-eat meals.

Aaron Janssen is a helicopter mechanic with a medical aviation company. He's sleeping in a tent next to his helicopter, with his wife and 9-year-old Chihuahua named Marley. He didn't want to leave them behind at their Orlando home while he worked.

Marley spent the day chasing a pigeon around the hangar.

"She's loving it," he said. "She hadn't figured out yet that she's never going to catch that pigeon."

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2 p.m.

Miami Beach officials say emergency services have been suspended until winds drop below 40 mph (64 kph), and no one will be allowed into the city until roads have been cleared. The city would continue a mandatory 8 p.m. curfew for the next two nights.

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2 p.m.

Actor Robert De Niro says a resort development company he is involved with on Barbuda will work with local officials to help with reconstruction on the island devastated by Hurricane Irma.

De Niro says in a statement that he was "beyond saddened to learn of the devastation" in Barbuda.

The actor is a principal in the Paradise Found Nobu Resort planned for Barbuda. Construction has not yet started on the project.

He said the company will work with local officials to "to successfully rebuild what nature has taken away from us."

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne says 90 percent of the structures and vehicles on the small island were destroyed in the storm. A 2-year-old boy was killed. About 1,400 people live on the island and most have now been evacuated to Antigua.

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2 p.m.

The State Department says it and the Defense Department are resuming their evacuation of U.S. citizens from Sint Maarten via a military flight to Puerto Rico.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says the department is communicating with Americans there through social media, radio, and by phone.

The department also is coordinating with AirBnB to identify and communicate with U.S. citizens not located at hotels who may have rented residences on the island.

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2 p.m.

Vice President Mike Pence says Hurricane Irma is a "storm of historic, epic proportions."

Pence spoke Sunday afternoon while visiting the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington. He says that President Donald Trump has been monitoring the storm "24/7."

Pence says "the people of Florida need to know that our hearts and our prayers and all of our efforts are with them and will be with them until this storm passes."

Pence says Irma "continues to be a very dangerous storm" and he urged people to "heed the warnings of local officials" to either shelter in place or evacuate, depending on where they are.

He says Irma is a "very dangerous storm" and a "life-threatening storm."

Pence says "it's enormously important that every American in the path of this storm take the warnings of state and local officials to heart."

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1:30 p.m.

Florida Power & Light says it will be weeks, not days, before electricity is fully restored because of the damage being done by Hurricane Irma.

Spokesman Rob Gould said Sunday that an estimated 3.4 million homes and businesses will lose power once the worst of Irma reaches the Florida mainland. He expects thousands of miles (kilometers) of poles and lines will need to be replaced, particularly on the Gulf coast. As of Sunday afternoon, about

1.5 million customers were without power.

He said 17,000 restoration workers from as far away as California and Massachusetts are already stationed around the state, but it will take time to rebuild the system.

The utility covers much of the state, including most cities on the Atlantic coast and the Gulf coast south of Tampa. It does not cover Tampa and St. Petersburg, two major cities in Irma's forecast path.

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1:30 p.m.

At least 25 people in one Florida county have been arrested for violating a curfew imposed as Hurricane Irma approached the state.

Palm Beach County authorities say the arrests were made after a 3 p.m. Saturday curfew was imposed. The misdemeanor charge can carry a fine of up to $500 and potentially 60 days in jail.

Officials announced the curfew as a safety measure and to prevent looting and other crimes. They say some of those arrested could face other charges, such as drug possession or drunken driving.

The curfew will be lifted after a storm damage assessment is done.

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1:30 p.m.

A meteorologist calculates that Hurricane Irma will dump about 10 trillion gallons (38 trillion liters) of rain on Florida over a day-and-a-half time period. That's about 500,000 gallons (1.9 trillion liters) for every Florida resident.

Private meteorologist Ryan Maue of WeatherBell Analytics based his calculations on weather service forecasts. He also calculates it will dump 6 trillion gallons (23 trillion liters) on Georgia.

By comparison, Hurricane Harvey, which stalled over the Texas coast, dumped about 20 trillion gallons (76 trillion liters) on Texas and 7 trillion gallons (26 trillion liters) of rain on Louisiana in about five days. One place around Houston got more than 50 inches (130 centimeters) of rain. Irma is expected to crawl steadily through the Sunshine State.

The National Hurricane Center projects 15 to 20 inches (38 to 50 centimeters) of rain with spots up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) for the Florida Keys. Western Florida is forecast to get 10 to 15 inches of rain (25 to 38 centimeters), with as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) in spots. The rest of Florida and southeastern Georgia is projected to get 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 centimeters) of rain, with isolated outbursts up to 16 inches (40 centimeters).

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1:30 p.m.

Emergency workers in inflatable boats are navigating flooded streets along Havana's coast, where thousands of people left their homes for safer ground before Hurricane Irma hit Cuba.

Seawater has penetrated as much as 1,600 feet (500 meters) inland in parts of the city. Trees are toppled, roofs have been torn off, cement water tanks have fallen from roofs to the ground and electrical lines are down.

Elena Villar is a Havana resident whose home of 30 years filled with more than 6 feet (2 meters) of water.

She was on the edge of tears Sunday as she said: "I have lost everything."

Villar and her mother spent the night huddling in the lobby of a higher building nearby as the storm raked the city.

In her words: "I have never seen a disaster like this."

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1:30 p.m.

Thanks to Hurricane Irma, Savannah, Georgia, has been evacuated for the second time in less than a year. Atlanta, meanwhile, is under a tropical-storm warning for the first time ever.

Nearly all of Georgia was under some type of severe-weather warning Sunday as Irma churned near Florida. The National Hurricane Center predicted the storm's center to cross Monday into southwest Georgia, where a hurricane warning was issued for communities including Albany and Valdosta.

Portions of western Alabama and coastal South Carolina were also under tropical-storm warnings.

The National Weather Service confirmed it had never before issued a tropical-storm warning for Atlanta, where wind gusts could reach 55 mph (88 kph). That's nothing new to Savannah and the rest of coastal Georgia, which evacuated last October for Hurricane Matthew.

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1:10 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump has received a "comprehensive update" on Hurricane Irma.

Irma plowed into the Florida Keys on Sunday and was forecast to march up the state's west coast.

Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and several Cabinet members participated in the briefing from Camp David — the presidential retreat where Trump has spent the weekend monitoring the storm.

Other administration officials joined in from the White House or Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington.

Pence and several Cabinet secretaries are planning to visit FEMA headquarters later Sunday.

The White House says Trump has spoken with the governors of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Irma could affect all four states.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott says he also spoke with Trump on Sunday.

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1:05 p.m.

Deputies shot and wounded a burglar and arrested his accomplice at a Florida home as Hurricane Irma blew in.

The Broward Sheriff's Office said in a news release Sunday that the homeowners in Weston were out of town but saw the burglars remotely inside the house through a home surveillance system.

Deputies responded shortly before 3 a.m. and one of the two juvenile males was shot outside the home. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The other person was arrested.

Their names were not immediately released.

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12:55 p.m.

High winds are impeding Miami authorities' ability to reach a construction crane toppled by Hurricane Irma.

The crane fell onto a high-rise building that's under construction. It's in a bayfront area filled with hotels and high-rise condo and office buildings, near AmericanAirlines Arena.

Miami-Dade County Director of Communications Mike Hernandez said emergency personnel couldn't immediately respond to the scene because of high winds. Authorities urged people to avoid the area after the Sunday morning collapse. It wasn't clear if there were any injuries.

Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso said the approximately two-dozen other cranes in the city are still upright and built to withstand significant wind gusts.

The tower cranes working on construction sites throughout the city were a concern ahead of Irma. Moving the massive equipment, weighing up to 30,000 pounds, is a slow process that would have taken about two weeks, according to city officials.

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12:20 p.m.

Florida sheriff's deputies rescued a couple who tried to ride out Hurricane Irma on a small sailboat.

Christine Weiss of the Martin County Sheriff's Office said a passer-by noticed the couple was in trouble Sunday. It happened just off Jensen Beach, which is on the Atlantic Coast north of Palm Beach.

Video shows a Martin County patrol boat manned by deputies John Howell and James Holloran and Detective Mathew Fritchie pulling up next to the sailboat.

The task of helping the couple onto their boat was precarious as both boats bobbed in choppy water. Deputies then took them to shore.

The names of the couple were not released. They were not injured.

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12:10 p.m.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says the death toll caused by Hurricane Irma on the Caribbean territory of St. Maarten has risen to four.

Rutte said Sunday, "unfortunately there are more victims to mourn" after the bodies of two people washed up on the island. He says the identities of the victims are not yet known.

One of the four people listed as victims by the Dutch authorities died of natural causes as the Category 5 hurricane lashed St. Maarten, badly damaging or destroying 70 percent of homes on the Dutch part of the Caribbean island.

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11:40 a.m.

Some Miami Police officers remembered to pack an essential in their hurricane survival pack: Cuban coffee known as cafecito.

The department tweeted a picture showing a coffee maker atop a camp stove. It read: "As our officers ride out the storm, some have brought the (hashtag) Miami essentials to help them get through the night."

The strongly caffeinated brew is a staple in Miami.

Former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said this week he'd check Cuban coffee stands to gauge Irma's impacts on Miami.

Fugate is known for creating the so-called "Waffle House Index." Fugate used the Southern restaurant chain as a benchmark for how quickly local communities could rebound from hurricanes.

Waffle House are known for being open most of the time. Under the index, a closed Waffle House was a bad sign. There are no Waffle Houses in Miami, so Fugate suggested an alternative.

"Cuban coffee stands — if those are closed, it is bad," he told AP.

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11:25 a.m.

President Donald Trump has spoken with the governors of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee as Hurricane Irma moves north.

All four states could be affected by the storm, which struck the Florida Keys on Sunday.

The White House says Trump spoke with the officials Sunday from the Camp David presidential retreat, where he was spending the weekend.

Trump has been in regular contract with Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio over the past week. Chief of staff John Kelly spoke Sunday with Florida Sen. Bill Nelson.

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were scheduled to receive an updated Irma briefing on Sunday.

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11:15 a.m.

As Hurricane Irma evacuees fill up Atlanta hotels and shelters, folks are getting creative to offer them a hand.

About 100 of America's top chefs who had gathered for their annual summit changed gears. They pivoted their planned Monday agenda on "heritage grains" and "how to cut food waste." Now, instead, the chefs will prepare a gourmet feast for Irma refugees and serve it at a church.

Hotels were full Sunday morning. At the luxury Georgian Terrace Hotel, staff were flexible with rules to accommodate evacuees. Guests walked pit bulls through the lobby. Large families pulled roller bags and clutched blankets as they squeezed into small rooms without enough beds.

A block away, a church offered free hugs for evacuees.

And a chalkboard sign outside a restaurant offered a discount: "30% OFF Food with FLORIDA ID for Hurricane evacuees."

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11:05 a.m.

The National Hurricane Center says Category 4 Hurricane Irma is now "headed for the southwest Florida coast" as winds continue to pick up speed in all of South Florida.

Irma continues to be armed with 130 mph winds as its large eye passes north of the Keys.

Storm surge is forecast for 10 to 15 feet in southwestern Florida.

Hurricane-force winds are continuing throughout southern Florida, including the Keys. The hurricane center warns that winds affecting upper floors of high-rise building will be much stronger than at ground level.

The hurricane center also emphasizes that Irma will bring life-threatening wind to much of Florida regardless of the exact track of its center.

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10:55 a.m.

Puerto Rico's governor says there will be no classes on Monday because hundreds of schools still do not have power or water after the island took a hit from Hurricane Irma.

Ricardo Rossello said Sunday that more than 600 schools don't have power and more than 400 don't have water. Another nearly 400 schools don't have either, and dozens are flooded.

Nearly 600,000 people in the U.S. territory remain without power, representing 40 percent of customers of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

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10:50 a.m.

The National Weather Service says that a crane has collapsed in Miami as strong wind from Hurricane Irma blows in.

It's one of two-dozen in the city.

The weather service's Miami office said in a Tweet that one of its employees witnessed the crane boom and counterweight collapse in downtown Miami. The employee captured video of the collapse.

It wasn't immediately clear if the collapse caused damage or injuries.

The cranes have been a concern.

Construction sites across Irma's potential path in Florida were locked down to remove or secure building materials, tools and debris that could be flung by Irma's winds.

But the horizontal arms of the tall tower cranes remained loose despite the potential danger of collapse. According to city officials, it would have taken about two weeks to move the cranes and there wasn't enough time.

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10:40 a.m.

Hurricane Irma's large eye is beginning to move slowly away from the Florida Keys as it continues north with 130 mph (215 kph) winds.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami reported that the center of core of Irma is about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Key West.

Irma is so wide that a gust of 93 mph (150 kph) was measured near Key Largo at the other end of the Florida Keys.

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10:35 a.m.

A Florida Keys refuge for a unique subspecies of deer is in the crosshairs of Hurricane Irma.

The Florida Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key is about 10 miles from where the storm made landfall Sunday morning.

It's the only place in world where you find Key deer, a unique subspecies of white-tailed deer about 3 feet tall at the shoulder — the size of a large dog.

The herd faced a potential extinction event last year when the first screwworm infestation in the U.S. in 30 years. Fewer than 1,000 of the endangered deer remain, and the parasites that eat the flesh of living mammals killed 135 Key deer before state and federal agriculture authorities stopped the infestation earlier this year.

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10:30 a.m.

France's Interior Minister expressed relief that Hurricane Jose spared French Caribbean islands St. Martin and St. Barts further devastation.

Gerard Collomb, speaking at a press conference in Paris Sunday, said that Jose passed miles away.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for France's government defended its handling of the hurricane crisis in St. Martin and St. Barts amid criticism that many in the local population felt abandoned by authorities.

Christophe Castaner, speaking in an interview with Europe1 -CNews-Les Echos on Sunday, said he "perfectly (understood) the anger" of residents after Hurricane Irma tore through the French Caribbean islands, killing several people, destroying houses and cutting off the water supply. Some shops were subsequently looted by locals.

But he insisted the means deployed by the government were robust — with emergency help given "first priority."

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10:25 a.m.

Florida officials say 127,000 people across the state have taken refuge in more than 500 shelters as Hurricane Irma takes aim at the state.

The state Division of Emergency Management did not specify which shelters had the most people.

Meanwhile, utility officials were warning that the storm could leave millions without power by the time it finishes moving through the state. Already, more than 1.3 million Florida customers were in the dark on Sunday morning as the hurricane made landfall in the Florida Keys.

Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility, is reporting on Sunday that many people living in the three populous south Florida counties of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach are without power. State officials say another 64,000 customers who rely on smaller utilities have also lost electricity.

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10:10 a.m.

For the first time, a tropical storm warning has been issued for the city of Atlanta.

The National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia, said Sunday it was the first time such a warning had been issued for the metro Atlanta area. High wind warnings have been issued in previous storms.

The warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 36 hours. Peak winds were expected to reach 30 to 40 mph (48 to 64 kph) with gusts of up to 55 mph (88 kph).

The weather service says storm threats include damage to porches, carports, sheds and unanchored mobile homes. Roads may become impassable due to debris. Power outages could occur.

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9:50 a.m.

Hurricane Irma became tied for the seventh strongest storm to make landfall in U.S. history by a key measurement of atmospheric pressure.

Hurricane Irma made landfall at Cudjoe Key at 9:10 a.m. with a minimum central pressure of 929 millibars. Atmospheric pressure is one of the major measurements meteorologists use to describe storms. The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.

Only six storms on record had lower pressures when striking the United States, including Katrina. When Katrina hit in 2005, it had lower pressure but its wind speed kept it at Category 3.

The 929 pressure mark ties Irma with the deadly 1928 Lake Okeechobee hurricane.

Irma's arrival also marks another first.

Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach says this is the first year on record that the United States has been hit by two storms that were Category 4 upon landfall: Harvey and Irma.

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9:45 a.m.

As Hurricane Irma threatened to wallop the St. Petersburg area, several folks got out on the beach ahead of the storm.

As they milled about Sunday morning, they looked at sailboats bobbing in the wind as the sun rose and took selfies and photos of the beach.

St. Petersburg resident John Leuders says he feels safe. With stores out of plywood, he tore down part of his fence to board up windows. He came down to the beach out of curiosity and noted the strong winds along the water.

Another resident, Sally Carlson, says she's been around for other storms and hurricanes, but this one scares her. She says she wanted to see the city one more time before any problems.

She adds: "I'm hoping it comes out unscathed, but I know better."

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9:40 a.m.

Florida utility officials say more than 1 million customers have lost power as Hurricane Irma hits the state.

Florida Power & Light Company said that nearly 1.1 million customers statewide were without power Sunday morning.

About 574,000 of those outages were in Miami-Dade County, while there were 360,000 in Broward and nearly 136,000 in Palm Beach County.

The massive storm made landfall in the Florida Keys, and its center was forecast to move up the state's Gulf Coast. But the effects are being felt far from the center because of Irma's size.

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9:25 a.m.

Hurricane Irma has made landfall in the Florida Keys.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the center of the massive hurricane made landfall on Cudjoe Key in the lower Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m.

Its top sustained winds are 130 mph (215 kph).

Forecasters say a gust of 106 mph (171 kph) was reported on Big Pine Key.

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9:00 a.m.

The Florida Highway Patrol says two people have died in a head-on crash in a county where Hurricane Irma's wind and rain have started to blow in.

Agency spokesman Greg Bueno said the crash happened Sunday morning in Hardee County, which is southeast of Tampa.

It wasn't immediately clear what role the weather may have played. He says troopers are investigating the crash and no further details were immediately available.

Bueno said in an email that the area is starting to feel the effects of Hurricane Irma.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for the county, saying a severe thunderstorm was in the area.

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8:55 a.m.

The National Hurricane Center forecasts that the core of Hurricane Irma will likely chug directly for the highly populated Tampa-St. Petersburg region after it gets through raking the Keys, but the storm is so massive all of Florida will be feeling the Category 4 hurricane's fury.

The center of the storm was just off Key West Sunday morning.

The latest forecast of Irma's eye — which still can change — keeps the nearly 400-mile wide (640-kilometer) storm in the water, barely off the coast of southwestern Florida's Fort Myers and Naples.

But that also puts that region in the strongest northeast quadrant of the storm, where storm surge, wind, rain and tornado threats are highest.

And a few miles wiggle could bring Irma's eye — which has measured 30 miles wide (48 kilometers) — inland.

The storm is moving slowly, about 8 mph (13 kilometers per hour) so its eye is likely to hit the Tampa region around 2 a.m. Monday, but damaging winds, storm, surge, rain and tornadoes will reach the area long before then.

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8:45 a.m.

Doctors were forced to talk a Florida woman through delivering her baby at home while Hurricane Irma's outer bands lashed Miami.

The City of Miami said on its Twitter account early Sunday that firefighters couldn't respond in time to the woman in the Little Haiti neighborhood. So doctors from Jackson Health System talked her through the birth of the baby girl at home.

Authorities say firefighters were able to make it to the woman Sunday morning and take her to the hospital after the girl was born.

Miami-Dade fire spokeswoman Erika Benitez said the fire department is responding to calls on a case-by-case basis as strong winds and rain lash the area. They are encouraging residents to stay inside because of downed power lines and debris.

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8:20 a.m.

Florida authorities have issued another stern warning about Hurricane Irma: Shooting bullets into the storm won't help keep you safe.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office tweeted late Saturday: "DO NOT shoot weapons @ (hashtag) Irma. You won't make it turn around (and) it will have very dangerous side effects."

The sheriff's office, which is in the Tampa Bay-area, was responding to a Facebook event page created two Florida men inviting people to shoot at Irma.

The page reads: "YO SO THIS GOOFY … LETS SHOW IRMA THAT WE SHOOT FIRST …"

The invitation presumably was a joke, but 80,000 people indicated they were "going" or "interested" in the event.

In a tweet early Sunday, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office asked the thousands of people who had shared the page to also share their request for volunteers needed at hurricane shelters.

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8 a.m.

Forecasters say Hurricane Irma's center is poised to blow across the Florida Keys.

The northern eyewall of the storm reached the island chain early Sunday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said in a public advisory that the center of the storm remained offshore but was going to make landfall soon. The storm was centered about 20 miles east (30 km) of Key West, and it was moving north-northwest at 8 mph (13 kph)

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215) kph. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of 90 mph (145 kph) near its Key West office.

After hitting the Florida Keys, Irma was forecast to move up the state's Gulf Coast later Sunday.

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7:55 a.m.

The National Weather Service in Miami has issued tornado warnings for a wide swath of Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward counties in South Florida.

Officials say the band of rain and tornado producing cells is moving quickly.

There have been no reports of tornadoes touching down.

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7:50 a.m.

Authorities are urging people who chose to ride out Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys to remain indoors until the storm passes.

The storm's eyewall reached the chain of islands Sunday morning. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of 90 mph (145 kph) near its Key West office.

In a Facebook post early Sunday, Key West Police urged people who stayed for the hurricane to remain where they took shelter until the storm had passed completely. They also urged people not to go outside when the eye of the storm is over there area, a time period when conditions can seem deceptively calm.

John Huston, who is riding out the storm from his home in Key Largo in the upper Keys, says the wind gusts are strong in his area.

"Water level is higher today," he said via text message Sunday morning. "Incredible wind that won't stop."

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7:05 a.m.

Hurricane Irma's eyewall has reached the Florida Keys.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says the storm's northern eyewall reached the lower Florida Keys Sunday morning. The eyewall is a band of clouds surrounding the center of the storm that has intense winds and strong rain.

The hurricane center says Key West International Airport has measured sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph).

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7:00 a.m.

Hundreds of thousands of people are without power in Florida as Hurricane Irma's winds and rain lash the state.

Irma's center was over water off Key West early Sunday, but places including Miami were being hit with strong winds and rain.

Florida Power & Light Company said that about 430,000 customers were without power Sunday morning. Miami-Dade County had the most outages with about 250,000. Broward County had 130,000 outages. Palm Beach County had more than 40,000 outages.

The utility said that it has mobilized crews and is working to restore power as it can.

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6:30 a.m.

With Hurricane Irma closing in on Florida, the storm's winds are already lashing parts of the state.

In Key West, Carol Walterson Stroud and her family are huddled in a third floor apartment at a senior center.

Stroud said early Sunday that the wind was blowing hard, but her family was OK. In a text message to a reporter, she said: "We are good so far."

As of 6 a.m. EDT, forecasters say the Category 4 storm is centered about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of the island.

The 60-year-old is with her husband and granddaughter and their dog. Stroud says she plans to step outside once the "eye" of the hurricane passes over later Sunday.

Meanwhile, to the north, access to all of Pinellas County's barrier islands, including the popular spring break destination of Clearwater Beach, has been shut off.

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6:10 a.m.

The eye of Hurricane Irma is very close to the lower Florida Keys.

As of 6 a.m. EDT, the U.S. National Hurricane Center says the Category 4 storm is centered about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south-southeast of Key West, Florida, and is moving northwest at 8 mph (13 kph).

Irma's maximum sustained winds are near 130 mph (215 kph). The hurricane center says weakening is forecast but Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it moves through the Florida Keys and near Florida's west coast.

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6:10 a.m.

France and the Netherlands say their islands in the Caribbean were spared major damage from Hurricane Jose, which passed farther away from the islands than expected.

The Sunday announcements — coming from France's national weather service and the Dutch navy — were good news for islands that had already been devastated by Hurricane Irma last week.

Meteo-France said Jose's center passed overnight about 75 miles (125 kilometers) from St. Martin and 80 miles (135 kilometers) from St. Barts, though it still produced gales of up to 48 mph (80 kph) around the islands.

In a tweet Sunday, the Netherlands' navy says the situation after Jose passed north of the islands overnight is "better than expected." Scores of marines and troops will resume their efforts to restore vital infrastructure and distribute food and water on St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius.

In a separate tweet, the navy said the security situation on St. Maarten, which saw widespread looting and robberies after Hurricane Irma, has improved thanks to patrols by marines and police flown to the island to help overwhelmed local law enforcement.

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5:10 a.m.

Hurricane Irma has sped up slightly and its eye is about to move across the lower Florida Keys early Sunday.

The hurricane is centered about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south-southeast of Key West, Florida, and is moving north-northwest near 8 mph (13 kph).

Irma is a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 130 mph (215 kph). The U.S. National Hurricane Center says weakening is forecast but Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it moves through the Florida Keys and near Florida's west coast.

Tens of thousands in Florida are huddled in shelters as the hurricane threatens to make a catastrophic hit on the state.

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5:10 a.m.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander is flying to the Caribbean to meet survivors of Hurricane Irma who were evacuated there from the hard-hit island of St. Maarten.

Meanwhile, Dutch tourists stranded for days on St. Maarten are hoping to finally get flights home.

Willem-Alexander was to fly Sunday to the island of Curacao to visit a hospital where more than 60 patients from St. Maarten who require kidney dialysis were flown for treatment over the last two days by the Dutch military.

If the weather is good enough, the monarch will later fly onward to St. Maarten and two other smaller islands hit by Irma on Wednesday to offer his support to the thousands of residents and Dutch marines helping to clear the island, where some 70 percent of homes were badly damaged or destroyed by the Category 5 storm.

The Dutch navy tweeted Sunday that it plans to evacuate tourists from the island's shattered resorts.

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4:10 a.m.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Irma is bearing down on the lower Florida Keys early Sunday.

A National Ocean Service station on a coral reef near the Keys has recorded sustained winds of 66 mph (105 kph) with a gust up to 85 mph (137 kph). Key West International Airport has measured sustained winds of 43 mph (69 kph) with a gust up to 73 mph (117 kph).

Irma is centered about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south-southeast of Key West, Florida, and is moving northwest near 6 mph (9 kph).

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3:15 a.m.

A re-strengthened Hurricane Irma is continuing to move toward the w

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