Hurricane Ian, after leaving a trail of destruction in Cuba, is set for the Florida west coast, with Tampa Bay expected to sustain the most significant damage from the Category 4 storm.
Hurricane Ian: Tampa Bay updates on Wednesday, 28 September 2022
According to an advisory notice issued by the National Hurricane Centre (NHC), the worst of the torrential system will likely be concentrated on the Lower Florida Keys, between Naples and the Sarasota region.
Meteorologists following the movements of Hurricane Ian in Tampa Bay and neighbouring regions warned of deathly wind speeds reaching up to 240 km/h (143 mph) on Wednesday morning and thunderous showers that will likely persist well into Thursday., 29 September 2022.
“Residents in these areas should listen to advice given by local officials and follow any evacuation orders for your area,” the NHC advised.
As reported by BBC News, more than 2.5 million Floridians have begun evacuating from the hotspot region, with local authorities going door-to-door, pleading with residents to join the emergency exodus.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Tampa Bay mayor Jane Castor noted that a city-wide curfew would be in place for residents who do not join the evacuation.
“This is not a drill. I don’t know that it can get much worse, but I’m sure that there’s a scenario that it can,” the mayor warned.
Watch: Hurricane Ian live tracking feed
At approximately 07:00 on Wednesday morning, the NHC warned of a catastrophic storm measured at 6-12ft above ground level approaching the southwest Florida coastline from Englewood to Bonita Beach.
“Heavy rainfall will spread across the Florida peninsula through Thursday and reach portions of the southwest US later this week and this weekend. Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic flooding is expected across portions of central Florida with considerable flooding in southern Florida, northern Florida, southeastern Georgia and coastal South Carolina,” the NHC warned.
Follow live tracking as Hurricane Ian moves toward inner regions of the southwest US right here: