Hurricane Ian is bearing down on Florida as a menacing major hurricane, and many residents have heeded orders to flee from its path. Forecasters say Ian could become a dangerous Category 4 hurricane before slamming into southwest Florida.
“It is a big storm, it is going to kick up a lot of water as it comes in,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in Sarasota, a coastal city of 57,000 in the storm’s projected path. He warned at a news conference: “This the kind of storm surge that is life threatening.”
Forecasters said the storm surge could reach 12 feet if it peaks at high tide. Rainfall near the area of landfall could top 18 inches .Gil Gonzalez wasn’t taking any chances. He boarded the windows of his Tampa home with plywood and laid down sandbags to guard against any flooding. He and his wife packed their car with bottled water, flashlights, battery packs for their cellphones and a camp stove before evacuating.Airports in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Key West closed.
Her husband insisted all would be fine. “You know, you got to go with the flow,” Glyn Williams said. “So we’re quite happy doing what we’re doing.” Before turning toward Florida, Ian made landfall early Tuesday in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, striking with sustained top winds of 125 mph and causing destruction in the island nation’s world-famous tobacco belt.