Hurricane Irma: IoM family find shelter

Fielders leave home and drive north in Florida

Gusts of near hurricane-force winds are battering islands in the south of Florida as Hurricane Irma approaches.

Manx Radio has been following the movements of a family that's just moved to the Sunshine State from the Isle of Man.

The Fielder family: Russ, his wife Kim, and their Manx-born children; 16 year-old Matthew and 11 year-old Daniel have evacuated their home in North Naples, and are staying at a safer location further north.

It's left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean as it approaches the United States.

The worst of Irma is expected to reach Florida this morning - but water levels are already rising in coastal areas, where a huge storm surge is expected.

Russ says they're now hunkered down - expecting up to 130 mile per hour winds in a storm that's expected to hit at category four.

He describes what they saw on the way to Fort Myers: