Florida readies for direct impact by Hurricane Irma.

Florida's population is readying for a direct impact by Hurricane Irma as the 5-day forecast cone shows its path straight up the center of the state. The National Hurricane Center said on Friday that Irma is an "extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane" which may also impact portions of Georgia and surrounding states.

Evacuation orders, previously issued for south Florida and parts of Miami-Dade county, were expanded Thursday evening to include additional zones including downtown Miami and much of its office and condo districts. The Miami-Dade evacuation, which is estimated to include over 650,000 people, is the largest in its history. Florida roads and highways are jammed as many people appear to have heeded the evacuation notices.

On Thursday, Irma passed north of Puerto Rico, sparing the island from a direct hit but leaving up to 1 million people without power. At least three people died in the U.S. Virgin Islands according to the office of Gov. Kenneth Mapp.

The storm track has shifted slightly west over the last 24 hours taking the storm directly up the Florida peninsula and into Georgia by Tuesday, September 12th. The National Weather Service has issued Hurricane Warnings for the south Florida coastline.

Hurricane Irma is expected to dump over 10 inches of rain in parts of Florida.

On Tuesday, September 5th, ContactRelief issued recommendations to suspend calling with a large portion of Florida as the state begins its preparations for this dangerous storm. We expanded the suspension area on Wednesday to include additional counties in the Florida panhandle and extending north into southern Georgia. ContactRelief is monitoring the storm's progress and will issue additional recommendations to contact centers as the storm track progresses.

ContactRelief's On-going Response to Hurricane Irma

For a limited time, ContactRelief is providing our full recommendations without charge as a service to the business community. Our full recommendations consist of the areas to be suspended and the list of zip codes covering these areas. Contact sales@contactrelief.com for more information.