Hurricane Irma: Miami's Mayor Declares State Of Emergency

MIAMI, FL — As hundreds of thousands evacuate from the Miami area ahead of Hurricane Irma's anticipated arrival, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado formally declared a state of emergency on Friday afternoon. Florida's governor had already declared a statewide state of emergency earlier in the week. Meanwhile, some 660,000 people are already under a mandatory evacuation order in Miami-Dade County, which includes Miami.

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Watch: FEMA Tells Floridians In Irma's Path To 'Get Out Now'

The order states that the state of emergency will last for a period of up to seven days. The order was necessary because Hurricane Irma may require "extraordinary and immediate" actions, according to city officials. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Miami Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Hurricane Irma remained a deadly Category 4 storm as of Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The storm is expected to make landfall in South Florida over the weekend.

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado is seen in the city's Emergency Operations Center on Friday ahead of Hurricane Irma. Photo courtesy city of Miami.