Hurricane Hermine makes landfall in Florida

Hurricane Hermine made landfall early Friday in Florida, bringing threats of floods, landslides, surges and even tornadoes, according to the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC).

Hermine, which has been marked Category 1 and poses a mortal threat, according to the authorities, made landfall in Florida's northern St. Marks locality, with maximum sustained winds of 130 km per hour, Efe news reported.

This is the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma swept through the state in 2005.

According to the NHC, Hermine will continue moving in the northeast direction through Florida, later entering Georgia, and South Carolina at night, and is expected to reach North Carolina by early Saturday.

The hurricane is expected to gradually weaken until it becomes a tropical storm.

The latest bulletins of the NHC extend the alert across a large part of the US coast, including northern areas such as the state of New Jersey and New York, as well as Virginia and Delaware.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said on Thursday that Hermine presents a mortal danger to the residents in the northern part of the state, and urged them to prepare themselves and buy sufficient water for three days. He said that the power supply to the region could be affected.

In capital Tallahassee, near St. Marks, 32,000 people have already lost access to electricity.

Scott said the greatest concern was a storm surge, which could inundate the region and leave people trapped in their houses during the passage of the hurricane.

At that point, authorities would not be able to do anything to help them, he added.

--IANS

ksk/vt