KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) – The Latest on preparations underway in Florida for Hurricane Irma (all times local):
7:10 a.m.
Expect to wait in line for gasoline in South Florida – if you can find a station that still has gas.
Lines stretched around 50 cars deep at a gas station in Cooper City, which is southwest of Fort Lauderdale, by 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. The station had been out of fuel on Tuesday night, but received an overnight delivery.
Workers at a station in Doral, near Miami, put yellow caution tape around pumps Wednesday morning after running out of gasoline. Local news outlets reported both long lines and stations that had no gas across South Florida.
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3:20 a.m.
Officials in the island chain south of the Florida mainland are expected to announce evacuations as Hurricane Irma moves west through the Caribbean toward the state.
Officials in the Florida Keys say they expect to announce a mandatory evacuation for visitors starting Wednesday and for residents starting Thursday.
The Category 5 hurricane is expected to reach Florida by the weekend. On Wednesday morning it was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Antigua.
People in South Florida raided store shelves, buying up water and other hurricane supplies. Long lines formed at gas stations and people pulled shutters out of storage and put up plywood to protect their homes and businesses.