Sask. man in Florida braces for Hurricane Irma

A Saskatchewan man living in Florida isn’t evacuating his home in the face of Hurricane Irma.

Former Yorkton resident Todd Hubbs, now a Palm Bay resident, told 650 CKOM he’s going to wait out the projected category five storm in his home.

“We’re putting up the storm shutters and just kind of hunkering down inside and hope for the best,” Hubbs said.

“This is the biggest and the strongest hurricane to ever come out of the Atlantic, so it’s kind of eerie.”

Hurricane Irma is set to crash into Florida’s panhandle Sunday morning, packing winds of 257 km/h and bringing a storm surge of up to 12 feet.

Hubbs spoke with 650 CKOM’s John Gormley Friday morning. He said the I-95, the main interstate to get out of his area, was gridlocked.

“If you decide to go at the last minute, you may not have anywhere to go. So, you’re probably better to wait it out in a house versus sitting on the street in your car,” he said.

Hubbs’ home is about 24 kilometres inland from Palm Bay, a coastal community south of Orlando which has already declared a local state of emergency.

Unlike the other islands Irma has already hit, Hubbs said Florida has no hills or mountains to slow it down.

“That’s why it’s so devastating to the state of Florida, because it’s just like a lawn mower,” Hubbs said. “It just mows its path and just keeps going.”