Monroe County Office of Emergency Management
Hurricane Ike update - September 6, 2008 - 3:30 p.m.
The Monroe County Office of Emergency Management has received some report about inaccurate information which they would like to correct.
There have been rumors that the mandatory evacuation for residents may be lifted for the middle and upper Keys due to Hurricane Ike taking a more southerly track than initially expected.
This is not true. The mandatory evacuation order for residents of the entire Florida Keys is still in place. Many people have already left, and anyone who has not yet gone are asked to leave beginning Sunday morning.
Keep in mind that, while Ike's projected path has moved slightly southward, the Florida Keys are still in the "cone of possibility" when it comes to a direct strike. If Ike's path deviates just slightly from the path predicted by the National Hurricane Center, the storm would be traveling over open water instead of over Cuba and could not only intensify, but could still hit the Florida Keys directly. It is because of this possibility that Emergency Management Officials are urging people to heed their order to leave.
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