Hurricane Ian prompts evacuation warnings in Florida [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday evening.
• Forecasters warned of possible deadly storm surges that could reach up to 12 feet along the shore and up to 2 feet of rain.
• Authorities urged residents, especially those in low-lying areas, to evacuate to higher ground.

Hurricane Ian tore into Cuba on Tuesday, leaving the whole nation without electricity. Now, Florida residents are preparing as the hurricane churns across the Gulf Coast. Evacuation orders or warnings were put into place for over 2.5 million Floridians.

Ian is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane somewhere south of Tampa near Sarasota on Wednesday evening. The National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service warned of possible deadly storm surges that could reach 12 feet (3.7 meters) along western Florida’s shoreline and up to 2 feet (0.6 meter) of rain in some areas.

According to the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, a Category 3 hurricane has maximum sustained winds of up to 129 miles per hour (208 km per hour). The hurricane advisory as of 8 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) puts Ian’s top winds at 120 mph (195 km per hour).

Residents hurried to stock on water and food. Those living in low-lying areas boarded up their homes and packed up their vehicles to head for higher ground.

Still, some residents plan to stay and ride out the storm at home.

Governor Ron DeSantis said that while predictions are still imprecise, “the impacts are going to be far, far broader than just where the eye of the storm happens to make landfall.” He also warned of possible flooding like Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s director of emergency management, addressed residents, “The time to evacuate is now. Get on the road.”

Toll collections along major highways were suspended to ease traffic.

About 60 school districts were either closed on Tuesday or are set to close by Wednesday, with many of the schools made designated shelters. Around 100 evacuation shelters were also opened across the state.

Tampa Electric warned of potential “extended outages” in addition to a “targeted interruption” of service to a part of western downtown Tampa, which has already been evacuated.

Ian would be the first hurricane to make landfall in Tampa since 1921’s Tarpon Springs storm.

Enki Research also estimated Ian to be the costliest, with projected storm-related damages ranging from $38 billion to over $60 billion.

The storm led to the cancelation of over 2,000 U.S. flights, and the shutdown of St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and Tampa International Airport. Disneyland theme and water parks will also be closed on Wednesday and Thursday, while the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers temporarily relocated to Miami.

UPDATE: Hurricane Ian strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm early Wednesday morning.

Source: Aol.com