(NBC News) – Hurricane Irma has residents from Florida to North Carolina preparing for the worst.
“Regardless of which coast you live on, be prepared to evacuate, this storm can change,” Florida Governor Rick Scott warned Thursday.
Those sentiments were echoed by the National Hurricane Center, emphasizing Irma’s uncertain path.
“In this part of the Atlantic, there are some of the warmest waters in the entire Atlantic basin, so there is certainly enough fuel there to keep Irma there as an extremely dangerous Category 5 or 4 Hurricane up until it reaches the Florida Peninsula,” explained Senior Hurricane Specialist Michael Brennan.
Irma’s 185 mile per hour winds have already torn a path of destruction across the island of Barbuda.
“I’m of the view that as it stands now, Barbuda is barely habitable,” Prime Minister Gaston Browne said after surveying the damage.
Still, with stricter building codes in Miami since hurricane Andrew, some people like Megan Koroglu are choosing to stay.
“I don’t think I could be safer anywhere else,” she said.
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