Traffic nightmare as 500,000 Floridians flee Irma, predicted to be worse than 1992’s Andrew

The race to flee Hurricane Irma turned into a marathon as more than a half-million people were ordered to leave south Florida on Thursday, ahead of a storm whose impact is predicted to dwarf that of 1992’s devastating Hurricane Andrew.

With the storm barrelling toward the tip of Florida fafter leaving a trail of ruin in the Caribbean, normally quick trips turned into day-long journeys on crowded highways amid a constant search for petrol and lodging. Airline seats out of Florida were in short supply as well.

Mari and Neal Michaud loaded their two children and dog into their small sport-utility vehicle and left their home near Cocoa Beach about 10am, bound for an impromptu holiday in Washington, D.C. Using a phone app and calls to search for fuel along the way, they finally arrived at a convenience store that had petrol nearly five hours later.

The 60-mile trip up Interstate 95 should have taken an hour, Mari Michaud said.

“There was no gas and it’s gridlock. People are stranded on the sides of the highway,” she said. “It’s 92 degrees out and little kids are out on the grass on the side of the road. No one can help them.”