Hurricane Hermine hits Florida leaving thousands without power

The National Hurricane Centre says winds have reached 80 miles per hour

Florida has been hit by its first hurricane in more than a decade, as Hurricane Hermine made landfall in the south eastern US state.

Winds of around 80 miles per hour battered the ‘Big Bend’ area on the north east edge of the Gulf of Mexico early Friday morning, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.

And 70,000 people have been left without power in nearby Tallahassee, according to local media – around 60 per cent of the city’s electricity customers.

On Thursday evening, Florida Governor Rick Scott urged residents to move inland before Hermine reached land.

He warned of dangerous wind speeds, downed trees, and power outages, reminded people to make sure they were equipped with supplies, like food, water, and medicine.

Projected storm surges of up to 3.7m threatened a wide swathe of the coast and an expected drenching of up to 25.4cm of rain carried the danger of flooding along the storm's path over land.

The last hurricane to strike Florida was the powerful Hurricane Wilma in October 2005.

It swept across heavily populated south Florida, causing five deaths in the state and an estimated $23 billion of damage.

Tallahassee has not been hit by a hurricane since Hurricane Kate in 1985.

“This is a life-threatening situation,” Mr Scott said in his address. “It’s going to be a lot of risk. Right now, I want everybody to be safe.”

Mr Scott said that 6,000 National Guardsmen are ready to mobilise once the storm passes.

Residents have posted countless videos to social media that show torrential rains, heavy winds, and in one instance a huge flash said to have been a power station.

Both governors of North Carolina and Georgia have issued states of emergency.

Hermine is expected to move into Georgia, but will likely be downgraded to a tropical storm by that time.

Tallahassee resident Tom Duffy, 70, told Associated Press on Thursday that he planned to reserve a hotel room for Friday night in the neighbouring state of Alabama if downed trees caused the kind of power cuts he expected.

“We've dodged bullet after bullet after bullet,” Mr Duffy said, but added that Hermine has taken “dead aim” at the city, where blustery winds sent trees swaying before dawn.

Chris Greaves, a Big Bend area resident preparing for Hermine, shared memories of Hurricane Andrew, which devastated the area in 1992.

He told the AP that he did not expect the same amount of widespread damage, but remained cautious because tropical weather is “nothing to mess with”.

Courtney Chason expressed similar concerns.

“I’ve never seen [the coastal waves] this high, it’s pretty damn crazy,” she said. “I hope it doesn’t get any higher; we need lots of prayers.”

Across the Florida state line in south Georgia, about a dozen people had already arrived by Thursday evening at a Red Cross shelter that opened at a city auditorium in Valdosta which is normally used for banquets and gospel concerts.

Cynthia Arnold left her mobile home for the shelter with her brother and her five-year-old grandson, saying: “I'm not just going to sit there and be ignorant.”