Hurricane Irma: FDOT Urges Evacuees To Use Real-Time Apps

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – As the number of Florida counties under mandatory evacuations from Hurricane Irma continues to grow, the Florida Department of Transportation is urging motorists to use the latest technology to stay safe.

FDOT is urging motorists across the state to use real-time traffic information tools to ease evacuations. The department recommends motorists use the following real-time traffic information tools:

• Florida 511 – The FDOT’s official source for traffic information, which can be accessed by dialing 511 or at www.fl511.com. The website provides real-time traffic information on crashes, incidents, construction, congestion, road closures and detours and other urgent alerts.
• Traffic Count Information – A summary of selected traffic counter data for state roads is available at www.fdot.gov/traffic.pdf. The report, which is updated hourly, features real-time evacuation data for Hurricane Irma.
• Waze – The FDOT participates in the Waze app’s Connected Citizens Program, which helps both the FDOT and Waze provide needed traffic information to motorists. Waze is one of the most popular crowd-sourcing apps for motorists.

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The recommended apps can be used by both people looking to safely evacuate and other motorists who are looking to avoid causing more congestion on Florida’s roads. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up forreal-time news alerts and newsletters from St. Pete Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

“Traffic can be heavy at times during a hurricane evacuation and we appreciate the public’s patience,” the FDOT said in a release on Thursday.

For more information, visit www.fdot.gov.

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By 5 p.m. Thursday, Irma was located about 40 miles south of Grand Turk Island. The Category 5 storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 175 mph while moving west-northwest at 16 mph.

On its current projected path, Hurricane Irma is expected to pass by Cuba on Friday and Saturday with the potential for landfall in south Florida on Sunday. As of the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. Sept. 7 update, almost the entire peninsula of Florida remained in the storm’s possible path.

Hurricane-force winds extended out from Irma by 70 miles Thursday. Tropical storm-force winds extended out 185 miles. Forecasters say, “some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a powerful Category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days.” The storm has been blamed for at least 10 deaths in the Caribbean.

Image via Daniel Oines, Flickr, used under Creative Commons