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Hurricane Ian over the Gulf of Mexico on Sept twenty seventh, 2022.
NOAA
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Tuesday urged Floridians not to underestimate Hurricane Ian and listen to local officers as the now Category 3 storm approaches the coast.
“Get prepared and don’t underestimate the potential this storm can carry,” Criswell mentioned at a White House briefing, including she has considerations about “complacency” amongst residents, particularly those that haven’t skilled a storm of this magnitude earlier than.
“We’re speaking about impacts in components of Florida that hasn’t seen a direct affect in almost 100 years,” Criswell mentioned.
The National Hurricane Center upgraded Hurricane Ian to a Category 3 storm Tuesday morning, which implies it may carry winds of up to 125 miles per hour. Some areas are anticipated to see up to 25 inches of rainfall, as well as to the storm surge, which is projected to high 10 ft, Criswell mentioned.
She warned that tornadoes are usually not unusual after a storm of this magnitude.
“If persons are instructed to evacuate by their local officers, please listen to them. The choice you select to make would be the distinction between life and loss of life,” Criswell mentioned.
As of 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the hurricane was about 200 miles off the coast of Sarasota, Florida touring at 10 miles per hour with most wind speeds of 115 miles per hour, in accordance to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hurricanes can shortly acquire energy.
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey that hit Texas grew from a Category 1 to Category 4 by the following day. That identical 12 months, Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, went from Category 1 to Category 5 inside 15 hours.
Hurricane Ian is at the moment anticipated to make landfall “someplace between Fort Myers and Tampa,” Criswell mentioned.
“By the time it reaches the shores of Florida, the storm goes to decelerate to roughly 5 miles per hour, and that is important as a result of it signifies that Floridians are going to expertise the impacts from the storm for a really very long time,” she added.
FEMA’s greatest concern is storm surge, Criswell mentioned. She famous it is without doubt one of the deadliest features of storms. Five folks died as a results of storm surge in Florida in 2018’s Hurricane Michael.
Criswell mentioned she spoke with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday, and famous that FEMA is working with federal, state and nonprofits companions to put together for the storm. President Joe Biden spoke with the mayors of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater on Tuesday morning.
Emergency responders have staged 128,000 gallons of gasoline and moved mills close by to put together for the aftermath, Criswell mentioned. Nearly 4 million meals and three.5 million liters of water are staged in Alabama for evacuees, and the Red Cross has arrange 29 shelters with an extra 60 shelters on the prepared.
Correction: A earlier model of this story misstated the projected velocity of the storm upon its reaching Florida.
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