Hurricane Ian updates: Florida counties face evacuations from a Category 2 storm as winds reach 100mph

Florida has canceled classes for its 30,000-plus students as Hurricane Ian continues to gain strength.

The university said in an update Monday that the class will be closed from Tuesday to Friday, while the campus will be closed Thursday through Friday.

“As we continue to monitor Hurricane Ian, the safety of the FSU family remains our top priority,” University President Richard McCullough He said in the current situation.

Hurricane Ian is now a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of up to 100 mph, according to a National Hurricane Center update at 5 p.m. EDT.

According to NHC’s Jimmy Rohm, “It’s really starting to look and feel, which is indicative of a storm that’s still going strong.”

Forecasts showed the storm passed over the Florida Keys early Wednesday morning, before continuing into the rest of Florida later in the day, with coastal areas “highly vulnerable to storm surge,” Mr. Rohm added.

“Life-threatening storms, hurricane-force winds, flash floods and possible mudslides are expected in parts of western Cuba starting this evening,” the National Health Commission also said in a statement.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate. Hurricane Ian Charting a path towards the west coast of Florida with strong winds, flash floodpotential storm surges and hurricanes.

Governor Governor Ron DeSantis Florida residents warned to prepare but not panic during Monday’s briefing after the storm was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane.

“This is a really big hurricane at this point,” Governor DeSantis said. He added that the path of the typhoon remains uncertain meaning it could “swing” in or far from the peninsula.

The Florida Gulf Coast is expected to be severely affected with conditions deteriorating up to 36 hours before the peak. Meteorologists have reported that warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico will charge more than Ian and could hit Florida as a Category 4 monster hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 km/h).

As Hurricane Ian heads toward the Caribbean and Florida, 7,000 National Guard soldiers are mobilized to help respond to the storm, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis He said on Monday.

Speaking at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, he said 5,000 guardsmen have come from Florida, and an additional 2,000-strong force will join them from Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina.

The governor added that five urban search and rescue teams, plus the US Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, are standing by.

All 67 Florida counties are under a state of emergency.

Hurricane Ian was getting stronger as it approached the western tip of Cuba on its way to hitting the west coast of Florida as a major hurricane early Wednesday.

Authorities in Cuba have suspended classes in Pinar del Rio province, dispatched medical and emergency personnel, planned to evacuate 20 communities “in the shortest possible time,” and taken steps to protect food and other crops in warehouses, according to state media.

“Cuba is expecting strong hurricane-force winds, as well as life-threatening storms and torrential rain,” Daniel Brown, a specialist with the US National Hurricane Center, told The Associated Press early Monday.

The hurricane center predicted that areas of the west coast of Cuba could see up to 14 feet (4.3 meters) of storms Monday night or early Tuesday.

In Havana, fishermen were taking their boats out of the water along the famous Malecon, the coastal boardwalk, and city workers were busy opening rainwater drains before the expected rain.

Adez Ladron, 35, of Havana, said the prospect of rising waters from the storm worries him.

“I’m so scared because my house is completely flooded, even here,” he said, pointing to his chest.

On Monday afternoon, Ian was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 km/h), about 195 miles (310 km) southeast of Cuba’s western tip, with strong winds rising to 85 mph (135 km). / hour).

The center of the hurricane was passing to the west of the Cayman Islands. No major damage was reported there on Monday and residents returned to the streets as the winds calmed.

Orange County residents fill sandbags in Baldwin Park to protect their homes in preparation for Hurricane Ian on Monday, September 26, 2022, in Orlando, Florida.

The National Hurricane Center released its latest update on Hurricane Ian at 2 pm (EST).

The Cayman Islands government has changed the hurricane warning for Grand Cayman Island to a tropical storm warning.

A hurricane warning applies to:

Cuban provinces: Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio and Artemisa

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:

Cuban provinces of La Habana, Mayapeque and Matanzas

– Down the Florida Keys from the Seven Mile Bridge west to Key West

The Storm Surge Watch is valid for:

– Florida Keys from Card Sound Bridge west to Key West

– Anglot River south to Card Sound Bridge

A hurricane watch is valid for:

– Englewood to the Ancelot River, including Tampa Bay

Tropical Storm Watch is valid for:

– Little Cayman and Cayman Brac

– Englewood south to Flamingo

Florida Keys from Seven Mile Bridge to Fifth Channel Bridge

A hurricane warning means that a hurricane is expected somewhere within the warning zone, in this case within 24 to 36 hours. Preparations must be expedited to protect lives and property

A tropical storm warning means that a tropical storm is expected somewhere within the warning zone within 36 hours

Storm Surge Watch indicates the potential for life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving from the coast inland, at the indicated locations over the next 48 hours

The Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area. The watch is usually issued 48 hours before the first expected appearance of tropical storm winds, conditions that make outdoor preparations difficult or dangerous

Tropical storm monitoring means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the monitoring area, generally within 48 hours

Source: NOAA / National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Ian was getting stronger as it approached the western tip of Cuba on its way to hitting the western coast of Florida. big hurricane early on Wednesday.

Ian was expected to hit the western tip of Cuba as a major hurricane and then become even stronger Category 4 with maximum winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) over warm Gulf of Mexico waters before hitting Florida.

As of Monday, Tampa and Saint Petersburg looked among the most likely targets for them First direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921.

Please take this storm seriously. It’s the real deal. This is not an exercise, Hillsborough County Director of Emergency Management Timothy Dudley said at a news conference about storm preparations in Tampa.

As Pinellas County begins mandatory evacuations the Monday night before Hurricane Ian, a senior law enforcement official has been candid in his assessment of the risks.

“Get out now,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Monday.

The county, which includes the cities of St Petersburg and Clearwater, is expected to experience some of the most severe impacts from the hurricane.

Hurricane Ian is expected to rise to Category 4 as it heads toward Florida’s Gulf Coast. Pinellas County and nearby areas can see up to 10 feet of storm surge.

At a press conference, the mayor said that while residents would not be forced to leave, they were urged to take calls for mandatory evacuations seriously.

“What he means is we won’t help you. If you don’t, you are on your own,” he said. More information about evacuation zones in Florida can be found here.

Mandatory evacuations go into effect in parts of Pinellas County, Florida at 6 p.m. local time Monday.

All residents of Evacuation Area A (including all mobile home residents) will be subject to mandatory evacuation orders. Mandatory orders for evacuation zones B and C will become effective tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.,” the Pinellas County Emergency Management tweeted.