FEMA's Brock Long on Irma: 'It's not a question of if Florida's going to be impacted'

Irma forecast to impact South Florida, Keys by weekend

WASHINGTON – Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said the impact of Hurricane Irma will be devastating to Florida.

"Hurricane Irma continues to be a threat that is going to devastate the United States, either Florida or the southeastern United States," Long said at a news conference Friday in advance of the storm.

Long said anybody from Alabama to North Carolina should be watching Irma's forecast closely.

"It's not a question of if Florida's going to be impacted," Long said. "It's a question of how bad Florida's going to be impacted."

Irma is forecast to make landfall somewhere in South Florida or the Florida Keys as a powerful Category 4 hurricane by the weekend. It is the most powerful hurricane to originate in the Atlantic Ocean in recorded history.