Trump issues warning for those in Hurricane Irma’s path

Hurricane Irma took aim at South Florida on Thursday, threatening millions with historic winds, huge storm surges and unrelenting rainfall as it left behind a trail of still-uncharted devastation in the Caribbean and a death toll that climbed to at least 13.

Although the storm’s track remained uncertain, a widening area braced for its effects. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statewide emergency declaration Thursday, a day after South Carolina did so.

President Trump was briefed in the Oval Office about storm preparations and Irma’s projected path. Earlier, he tweeted a reminder to those in Irma’s path to “be careful, be safe,” as the storm approaches.

The president issued a more forceful warning later Thursday, urging all those in the path of the monster Category 5 storm to heed the advice of local authorities.

With South Florida under a hurricane watch, Philip Levine, the mayor of vulnerable barrier island Miami Beach, called Irma a “nuclear hurricane.” Irma’s leading edge was expected to reach Florida as soon as Saturday, and Gov. Rick Scott spoke of a “catastrophic storm that our state has never seen.”

In South Florida, home to about 6 million people, flight from the mighty storm that was bearing down turned chaotic at times, with the state’s two main south-north arteries clogged with traffic and gasoline in short supply. Florida Highway Patrol troopers were trying to keep vehicles moving, towing disabled cars left by the roadside and escorting fuel trucks.

Florida lore is full of die-hards who ride out hurricanes, and defying a storm’s fury is romanticized in films such as the 1948 noir classic “Key Largo.” But Scott, in a televised public briefing, pleaded with any holdouts in evacuation zones, especially in the Florida Keys, to obey orders to depart.

“Leave. Get out,” the governor said, addressing those who had been told to go. “We can’t save you once the storm starts.”

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– This post contains reporting from Evan Halper and Laura King.