Hurricane watch: How Florida is preparing for Irma

BOSTON — As Hurricane Irma quickly gains strength along the Atlantic Ocean due to increasing winds, areas within the path of the storm are warned to evacuate and prepare as soon as possible.

The National Hurricane Center revealed in a 2 p.m. advisory that Irma’s sustained wind strength had increased to 185 mph, making it a potentially catastrophic storm for the Leeward Islands.

At the time of the latest advisory, Irma was 180 miles east of Antigua and moving west at 14 mph.

Meteorologists are warning that Irma could potentially reach up to 200 mph as it cruises along the Atlantic Ocean, bumping it up to a Category 6.

While Irma is still about 1,500 miles away from Florida, all of South Florida is currently in the five-day forecast track cone. Studies show that it could take up to 99 hours to fully evacuate people from the major evacuation areas, yet there's no way of knowing how big of a threat the storm could be that far in advance.

Florida residents have been warned about the potential devastation that the hurricane could bring and are urged to prepare and monitor the storm accordingly.

Here's a list of how to properly prepare for Hurricane Irma:

Make evacuation plans:

Perhaps the most important item of the list is to make arrangements to evacuate your immediate area if needed.

Tolls in Florida have been suspended in lieu of the storm, and officials have urged those in evacuation areas to plan ahead and leave early.

To those outside evacuation zones, if you plan to stay, make sure to check the conditions of the house and board up all windows and doors.

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If you're making travel plans, flying might not be an option, trains will be jammed and will stop running when conditions begin to deteriorate.

Consider traveling before traffic begins to build up and make hotel arrangements if necessary in advance as rooms will fill up quickly.

Check your car. Fill up the gas tank, check the tires, fluids and brakes. Get a current map of backup routes.

Gas stations in Florida are already seeing a lot of traffic.

If you're using a shelter: 

Shelters should only be used if you've been ordered to evacuate and have nowhere else to go.

Make sure to check with your city or local law enforcement what the nearest shelters to you are.

Buy supplies in advance:

Water, non-perishables, canned goods, flashlights, batteries, etc. are all things that should be a part of a hurricane safety kit. More information on how to build a safety kit can be found here.

People have been reporting that water has been hard to find and supplies are flying off the shelves.

Back up your electronics and make copies of important documents

If the storm causes as much destruction as Hurricane Harvey did, you'll want to make sure all the important information you have is secure.

Puerto Rico, the U.S Virgin Islands and Florida have all declared states of emergency. Several islands have already begun to evacuate its residents.

Airlines are now waiving fees to change flights and cruise lines are monitoring the storm closely, although no cruises from Boston have been cancelled yet.

Theme parks, such as Disney World, have hurricane cancellation plans if there is a hurricane warning within seven days of your visit.

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