Multiple thousands of residents out of South Florida have been placed under mandatory evacuation and have packed up what could be and flooded the interstate highways this past Tuesday due to the looming threat of Hurricane Ian continuing to make its way to the coast.
As part of a Tuesday morning press conference, Governor Ron DeSantis issued an update on the situation that called on the residents of Florida to take necessary precautions as Ian is slated to slam into the Gulf Coast as a massively powerful Category 4 hurricane.
WATCH: Large number of people evacuating Tampa Bay as Hurricane Ian heads towards #Florida. #HurricaneIan #TampaBay pic.twitter.com/UgfTCqjRAj
— BNN Newsroom (@BNNBreaking) September 27, 2022
“There’s still uncertainty about with where that exact landfall will be, but just understand the impacts are going to be far, far broader than just where the eye of the storm happens to make landfall,” expressed DeSantis. “When you have 5 to 10 feet of storm surge, that is not something you want to be a part of — Mother Nature is a very fearsome adversary, so please heed those warnings.”
TAMPA HURRICANE EVACUATION IN PROGRESS Traffic currently backed up on I-4 to Orlando currently taking an extra 40 minutes #HurricaneIan @JimCantore pic.twitter.com/brENmgzcte
— Chris FL Tornado (@ChrisFLTornado) September 27, 2022
As water surges over the sea walls around Key West, extreme winds gust up at speeds of 70 MPH, and row upon row of cars create massive traffic jams for over 40 minutes before being able to head out of Tampa Bay, the states residents who remain are bracing for the impact to come as Ian makes its way landfall as, currently, a Category 3 hurricane.
Water is already over the sea wall in Key West. Storm surge here will peak at 2-4 feet. Highest wind gusts could range 60-70mph tonight. #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/eGHTHpBXgS
— Brandon Orr (@BrandonOrrWPLG) September 27, 2022
Glades Road and I-95 interchange and #HurricaneIan hasn't even made landfall but the effects are here! (I give media permission to use this to illustrate the importance of being safe especially those who are evacuating from the West Coast) pic.twitter.com/h7VzP2EM56
— John Harris (@harris1099) September 27, 2022
Officials with the National Weather Service have stated that the winds from this storm were slated to get stronger on Tuesday evening across the Florida Keys with the storm thought to crash into the state later this week.
“After the winds subside, there will still be strong rain squalls throughout the Florida Keys, and that’s when the water is expected to rise,” explained the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service-Key West, Jon Rizzo. “We are expecting water to reach its peak on Thursday and continue to flood the streets and the bay side all the way through Friday.”
https://twitter.com/hurricanetrack/status/1574809934654472195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1574809934654472195%7Ctwgr%5E150b6d408d5ff962ab4ce1ce517dab2fefa133b3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fhurricane-ian-advances-forcing-florida-residents-to-flee-their-homes
A report at 5 p.m. from WESH 2 stated that Ian had built up to maximum winds at a level of 120 miles per hour just 230 miles south of Sarasota, Florida, and just 50 miles south-southwest of the Dry Tortugas.
The extremely large and dangerous storm system was measured by meteorologists to be almost 500 miles wide with a very well-defined eye.
#Ian continues to grow stronger in the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon. As of 2PM EDT, max sustained winds are 120 mph with a minimum pressure of 955 mb. #hurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/drWmPgY1mo
— RadarOmega (@RadarOmega) September 27, 2022
Business owners out of Daytona City which were severely impacted by Hurricane Irma back in 2017 were quick to start preparing by boarding up the windows of their stores and setting out sandbags near the entrances.
In @CityDaytona downtown Beach Street, which flooded so dramatically during #HurricaneIrma, owners of this business where the river literally ran through it, are not taking chances w #HurricaneIan….boarding up & using sandbags pic.twitter.com/9SqT4QNd4a
— claire metz (@clairemetzwesh) September 27, 2022
As of this past Tuesday morning, an order for mandatory evacuation had been issued for Charlotte, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties. The areas include parts of the largest city in the announced counties, Tampa, and many other highly-populated coastal locales.
As reported by local media, meteorologists are bringing up comparisons of Ian to Hurricane Charley from back in 2004, a massive Cat 4 hurricane that followed a similar projected path and has been remembered as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever slam into the United States.
FLORIDA MAN seen wakeboarding behind truck driving on flooded streets as Hurricane Ian approaches. #FloridaMan #Ian #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/xG4WOH9lqO
— Ben Brahler (@BigBen_27) September 27, 2022
This past Saturday, DeSantis issued an expansion of the state of emergency out to all 67 counties in the state. The order has officially suspended all tolls across the entire Tampa Bay area in order to assist in the rapid evacuations.
