Ian strengthens to a hurricane as it churns toward Florida
Florida is under a state of emergency, which Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded from two dozen counties to the entire state Saturday afternoon, warning that residents could see power outages, fuel disruptions and flooding.
Some areas of the state are heeding that advice. Officials in many parts of the Tampa Bay region have announced that schools would begin shutting down Monday and stay closed through at least Thursday, because some school buildings would be converted into emergency shelters if evacuation orders are issued.
North Florida, the Florida Panhandle and portions of the Southeast may be hit with heavy rainfall on Thursday, Friday and into Saturday, the hurricane center said.Ian is predicted to peak as a 130 mph Category 4 hurricane west of the Florida Straits on Tuesday, which would make it the strongest September hurricane to pass through the Gulf of Mexico since Rita in 2005.
The Florida National Guard has activated 2,500 troops, DeSantis said, adding: “If there’s a need for more, then we can do more.” He warned on Sunday for residents of the state to “expect heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge and even isolated tornadoes.”
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