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Dade Opens More Shelters Ahead Of Irma

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Some Miami-Dade residents are packing up and getting ready to head out ahead of Hurricane Irma.

On Wednesday, a mandatory evacuation order was issued for residents of Zone A and the barrier islands in Zone B. People who live in mobile homes were also ordered to evacuate. It affects about 100,000 residents.

Zone A includes most of coastal Miami-Dade including Key Biscayne, while Zone B includes Miami Beach, Miami's Brickell Avenue neighborhood, more inland areas and other oceanfront cities. Click here for a map of evacuation zones.

"If you do not heed the warning and you do not heed the mandatory evacuation order and you have a problem, I'm not saying we can't get to you, I'm saying we may not be able to get to you, so that's the risk you are taking," said county Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

To accommodate those who have no where else to go, four shelters were opened on Wednesday.

Four more were opened Thursday morning. Those shelters are:
*Miami Carol City Senior at 3301 Miami Gardens Drive in Miami Gardens
*Miami Central Senior at 781 NW 95 Street in Miami
*North Miami Senior at 13110 NE 8th Avenue in North Miami
*TERRA Environmental at 11005 SW 84 Street in Miami

Click Here for a list of open shelters.

Schools are closed Thursday and Friday. All employees, other than essential employees, will be off duty as of tonight.

The main number right how is 35 mph. If winds reach that high, trash pick up, public transportation and operations at Miami International Airport will stop.

PortMiami will be closed down starting 8 a.m. Saturday. Ships will leave the port Friday at noon.

Those who have boats in marinas, are asked to secure their boats as soon as they can.

The mayor said that eventually - probably by Friday or Saturday - all drawbridges will be locked.

Miami-Dade parks and libraries will be closed starting Thursday.

With gasoline running short across south Florida, Governor Rick Scott recommended downing the GasBuddy app on your phone for updated availability.

Residents are urged to stay alert. Miami-Dade County offers a variety of apps and alerts to stay up to date. You can sign up for Miami-Dade Emergency Alerts  that will let you know through email or texts about public safety issues, recommended public protective actions, or other emergency information. Their SAFE app lets users find open and available evacuation centers and Disaster Assistance Centers near you. To report damage info to the county, click here.

To report price gouging, click here. Officials ask that you call your local police or dial '866-9-No-Scam' or 866-966-7226.

The State of Florida Emergency Information Hotline number is 1-800-342-3557.

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