Florida Officials Expect Hurricane Ian To Bring Destruction

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says that hurricane and tornado damage has already wreaked havoc in his state.

“Much of Southern Florida’s already experiencing impacts from the storm as it moves closer to landfall. There have been several tornado warnings issued during the overnight hours, and we expect to see that continue today,” DeSantis said.

Hurricane Ian is only 55 miles from the Gulf Coast of Florida with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, just two miles per hour under category 5 strength.

This GOES-East GeCcolor satellite image taken at 9:56 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Hurricane Ian passing over western Cuba. Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba on Tuesday as a major hurricane, with nothing to stop it from intensifying into a catastrophic Category 4 storm before it hits Florida, where officials ordered 2.5 million people to evacuate before it crashes ashore Wednesday. (NOAA via AP )

Tampa Fire and Rescue Chief Barbara Tripp says the storm is coming her way.

“We’re definitely prepared and, of course, with the shift of the hurricane, we are still keeping our guards up,” Tripp said.

More than a million people are under mandatory evacuation orders with hurricane and storm surge warnings in effect along hundreds of miles of Florida’s west coast. State and local emergency officials are urging people not to try and ride out the storm.

“We have probably additional, give or take, probably another 2,500-3,500 additional resources ready standing by to assist,” Tripp said.


Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.

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