DeSantis said the latest models have the storm making landfall in the Sarasota area, which has prompted evacuation orders across the Tampa Bay region.
Hurricane Ian continues to intensify, and the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday the storm has increased to a Category 3 major hurricane. It is expected to reach Category 4 strength in the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall in Southwest Florida, possibly as a Category 3. He also reiterated that millions of residents in the middle and northern regions of the state could also see power outages and flooding in the coming days.
“Just understand the impacts are going to be far, far broader than just where the eye of the storm happens to make landfall. In some areas, there will be catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge. So if you’re on Florida’s Gulf Coast, from Naples all the way through the Tampa Bay area and some of the counties north of that, that could be something that happens and will certainly happen in some parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast,” DeSantis warned.
During his news conference in Tallahassee on Tuesday morning, DeSantis compared Hurricane Ian to Hurricane Charley which hit the same region in 2004.Hurricane Charley was a storm similar to Ian, tracking out of the Caribbean Sea and heading north. Charley was predicted to come ashore as a Category 2, maybe a 3 near Tampa Bay. Once crossing Cuba, Charley exploded and tracked slightly east of north, coming ashore near Naples.
DeSantis said unlike Charley, which battered the state with strong winds, flooding and storm surge will be the main issue with Ian.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pete Buttigieg rips Ron DeSantis for 'border stunts' after Martha's Vineyard flightTransportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ripped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for 'border stunts' such as flying immigrants to Martha's Vineyard.
Read more »
Ron DeSantis: The Making and Remaking (and Remaking) of a MAGA HeirThe Florida governor is the Fox-loving, lib-owning successor-in-waiting to Donald Trump’s cult of personality. But for all DeSantis’s bona fides and rocketing national profile, doubts about his own persona (“calculated,” “aloof,” “cold-blooded”) persist. Is it any wonder he and the former president are already locked in a 2024 cold war?
Read more »
'Impacts are going to be far and wide': DeSantis urges entire Gulf Coast to prepare for Ian“Floridians up and down the Gulf Coast should feel the impacts of this,' DeSantis said during a press conference at the Emergency Operations Center. “This is a really, really big hurricane at this point.” DeSantis noted Ian is about 500 miles wide.
Read more »