CLOSE With thousands of people evacuating the coasts of Florida and Georgia ahead of Hurricane Irma, some Miami Beach residents are counting on their storm-resistant structures and staying. (Sept. 8) AP 
 
 This satellite image shows Hurricane Irma illuminating as the storm approaches Cuba and Florida late Sept. 8, 2017. (Photo: AP Images) 
 
 HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Hurricane Irma was downgraded to Category 4 status early Saturday as the storm slammed Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, the National Hurricane Center confirmed. 
 
 As of 5 a.m. ET Saturday, the eye of the storm was still moving over Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago, the National Hurricane Center said. The center of the storm was located about 245 miles south-southeast of Miami and was moving to the west at 12 mph, the National Hurricane Center added. 
 
 Authorities pleaded with residents of the Florida Keys to evacuate in the few remaining hours before Hurricane Irma’s arrival, warning that storm surges and high winds pose a particular risk to the string of low-lying sandbar islands tailing off Florida’s southern tip. Officials also scrambled to provide fuel for hundreds of thousands of residents trying to flee northward or to local shelters. 
 
 "This is a catastrophic storm the state has never seen before," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said as he made another plea for residents to heed evacuation warnings. “If you are planning to leave and do not leave tonight, you will have to ride out this extremely dangerous storm at your own risk," he said, according to The Associated Press. 
 
 Miami International Airport announced on Twitter that "there were no scheduled flights for Saturday and Sunday," adding that the last flight departed late Friday night. 
 
 Last flight has departed from MIA. There are no scheduled flights for Saturday and Sunday. Follow us for latest updates. #HurricaneIrma — Miami Int'l Airport (@iflymia) September 9, 2017 
 
 More: Hurricane Irma: Where is the Category 5 storm now 
 
 Related: Florida volunteers step in to prepare for Hurricane Irma 
 
 Current tracking shows the center of the storm moving near Cuba's north coast on Saturday, near the Florida Keys early Sunday morning, and then traveling near the southwest coast of Florida on Sunday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said. 
 
 Forecasters warned that its hurricane-force winds were so wide they could reach from coast to coast, testing the nation’s third-largest state, which has undergone rapid development and more stringent hurricane-proof building codes in the last decade or so. 
 
 CLOSE People in Florida get into shelters ahead of hurricane Irma. Video provided by AFP Newslook 
 
 The storm has killed at least 20 people since roaring out of the open Atlantic and chewing through a string of Caribbean islands. Four deaths were reported in the British Virgin Islands, nine on the French Caribbean islands of St. Martin and St. Barts, four in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and one each on the islands of Anguilla, Barbuda and the Dutch side of St. Martin. 
 
 In the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katia made landfall late Friday north of Tecolutla, Mexico and weakened to a tropical storm, with winds reaching 45 mph, AP reported. 
 
 Early Saturday, Hurricane Jose maintained its Category 4 status over the Atlantic, about 240 miles east-southeast of the Northern Leeward Islands, moving roughly westward at 14 mph with maximum sustained winds reaching 150 mph. 
 
 Rice and Stanglin reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Associated Press 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2vUy9Ku ||||| Florida is on high alert and has ordered evacuations, with mandatory evacuations for the Florida Keys and parts of Miami-Dade and Broward counties. FEMA Director Brock Long said Friday: "I can guarantee you that I don't know anybody in Florida who's ever experienced what's about to hit South Florida." 
 
 A bad week for North America: Two other hurricanes are building momentum in the Atlantic. Hurricane Jose is expected to make landfall on some Caribbean islands Saturday, while Katia, now a Category 2 storm, is threatening to close in on the coast of Mexico Friday evening. And late Thursday night, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 hit Mexico just off the Pacific coast, killing at least 32 people. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said it was the biggest earthquake to hit the country in a century. 
 
 Trump on Twitter Friday morning: "Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen. Be safe and get out of its way,if possible. Federal G is ready! Our incredible U.S. Coast Guard saved more than 15,000 lives last week with Harvey. Irma could be even tougher. We love our Coast Guard!" 
 
 More updates: 
 
 Gov. Rick Scott said Friday morning, "All Floridians should be prepared to evacuate soon. Evacuations aren't meant to be convenient, but to keep you safe... Possession can be replaced, families cannot." Irma's storm surge is forecasted to be 3 to 10 feet in Florida. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people have already headed to shelters in Miami-Dade county alone. 
 
 "The dramatic mass exodus from South Florida could turn into one of the largest evacuations in US history," CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen said. 
 
 Fuel in Florida is running low, creating another issue for the state. Gov. Scott has urged gas stations to remain open for as long as possible. 
 
 The Carolinas and Georgia have declared emergencies. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal issued mandatory evacuations for Savannah and other coastal areas, starting Saturday. 
 
 Delta Air Lines has added flights out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West to Atlanta, and is letting passengers affected by Irma to rebook flights for free. 
 
 White House Homeland Security Advisor, Tom Bossert, said Friday that the U.S. will evacuate people in the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Martin in preparation for Hurricane Jose. 
 
 While walking to board Marine One en route to Camp David, President Trump told reporters "we are prepared at the highest level" for Hurricane Irma. 
 
 8pm forecast map:
– Florida is next: Hurricane Irma continued to batter Cuba early Saturday as it powered its way toward the US. In fact, South Florida already has begun to feel the outer bands, reports the Miami Herald. As of 5am Eastern, Irma was 245 miles southeast of Miami's coast and moving at 12mph with sustained winds of 155mph. That puts Irma back in Category 4 status after it briefly regained Category 5 strength late Friday. One small bright spot: The latest forecasts suggests its landfall will be southwest of the heavily populated Miami metro area when it eventually arrives, per the AP. Still, given the breadth of the storm, the entire Florida peninsula braced for a devastating hit. In one of the country's largest evacuations, about 5.6 million people in Florida—more than one-quarter of the state's population—were ordered to leave, and another 540,000 were ordered out on the Georgia coast. Authorities opened hundreds of shelters for people who did not leave. Hotels as far away as Atlanta filled up with evacuees. Meanwhile, Miami International Airport said it has no scheduled flights Saturday and Sunday, reports USA Today. So far, the death toll in the Caribbean from Irma is at 20. Elsewhere in the Atlantic, Hurricane Jose is a Category 4 hurricane, about 190 miles east-southeast of the Northern Leeward Islands. In the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katia made landfall late Friday north of Tecolutla, Mexico, and weakened to a tropical storm. By early Saturday morning, it was 135 miles south of Tampico, Mexico, moving sluggishly at only 2 mph.