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(Reuters) – Tropical Storm Michael became a hurricane on Monday and is expected to strengthen rapidly before hitting the Florida Panhandle mid-week, blowing at least 160 km / h (160 km / h), the US National Hurricane announced. Center (NHC). .
Michael was currently a Category 1 hurricane, but he could hit the land as a Category 3 on a five-stage Saffir-Simpson scale and bring 10 to 30 cm of rain with threatening flash floods, according to forecasters.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared emergency status in more than 20 counties along the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend. Scott advised Gulf Coast residents to prepare for any evacuation orders and alerted more than 5,000 National Guard soldiers.
"Families should take advantage of the opportunity TODAY to make sure they have three days of food and water, as well as all the necessary medications," Scott wrote on Twitter. Monday. "EVERY FAMILY must be prepared. We can rebuild your home, but we can not rebuild your life. "
Michael beat areas of Mexico and Cuba with strong winds and heavy rains on Sunday and early Monday. The storm was about 220 km east-northwest of Cozumel, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km / h), forecasters said.
The mayor of Tallahassee, Andrew Gillum, also candidate for the post of democratic governor in the legislative elections of November 6, announced Sunday that he was canceling the events of his campaign and that he was returning to Tallahassee, the capital of the State, to devote himself to the preparations for the storm.
After hitting Florida, the storm is expected to move north-east Wednesday and Thursday along the Atlantic coast and hit the Carolinas, who are still recovering from Hurricane Florence last month.
BP and Exxon Mobil began Monday to evacuate personnel from oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Commodity Weather Group said that Michael was not likely to cause much interruption to oil and gas production.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, 17% of daily crude oil production and 5% of natural gas daily production in the United States is in the Gulf of Mexico.
More than 45% of the country's refining capacity is located along the US Gulf Coast, which is also home to 51% of the total natural gas processing capacity in the United States.
Report by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Additional report by Gina Cherelus in New York; Edited by Lisa Shumaker and Paul Simao
