'Leave now, do not wait': 300,000 Floridians are ordered to evacuate before monster Hurricane Ian slams into west coast at 140MPH - as Tampa readies for its 'storm of the century'

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September 26, 2022

Tropical Storm Ian has been upgraded to a 'large and powerful' Category 1 hurricane by the National Hurricane Center. Landfall in southwest Florida is now forecast for Tuesday morning.

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Via DailyMail.com:

Tropical Storm Ian has been upgraded to a 'large and powerful' Category 1 hurricane by the National Hurricane Center
Authorities in Cuba have suspended classes and will begin evacuations on Monday as Ian is set to hit a Category 3 strength or above
Officials in Florida have also declared a state emergency over the strengthening storm, warning residents to stock up on radios and supplies
Stores have started to run out of water and other basic supplies as many stockpile ahead of the storm hitting - including planks of plywood to board their windows up

Floridians have been urged to 'get out now' as Hurricane Ian barrels towards the Sunshine State and is set to bring 15ft waves and 140mph winds.

Local officials warned residents 'do not wait' and stressed 'time is of the essence' as the monster storm loomed in the Caribbean Sea just south of Cuba.

They ordered more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes in parts of Hillsborough - including Tampa - Manatee, and Hernando counties, with more expected to follow.

Ian was upgraded to a hurricane early on Monday morning by the National Hurricane Center, warning of an 'additional rapid strengthening'.

Residents have started desperately digging huge trenches to redirect flood water while others have stripped shelves bare of water and essentials.

Stark pictures and videos from across the state show prolonged queues at checkouts as locals stocked up and prepare to bunker down ahead of the monster weather front.

Ian strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane overnight Sunday, but it is feared it will warp into a major Category 4 this week - hitting Florida on Wednesday night or Thursday morning after battering Cuba.

It is expected to be the worst hurricane Tampa has seen since 1921, when 115mph winds battered the coast city and left a trail of devastation.

Huge swathes of the area was submerged under 10ft of water from the deadly surge, with breaking waves ripping apart buildings and killing eight people.

Ron DeSantis declared an emergency across the entire state and its 67 counties on Saturday afternoon in a sign of how concerned officials are.

The Florida Governor on Monday warned the impacts from the storm will be 'far and wide' and felt on both coasts in the form of power outages and severe flooding.

Tampa Bay residents have been urged to evacuate immediately by Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said: 'For all practical purposes, get out right now.'

Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise said: 'Do not wait. Time is of the essence. Act now. We expect to have to evacuate over 300,000 people, and it will take some time, which is why we are starting now.'

Desperate Tampa residents began besieging home improvement stores today for plywood sheeting to cover their windows.

At Home Depot on the city’s Memorial Highway, the lumber department was packed with homeowners and contractors scrambling for supplies.

One, a partner in a gas station who would only give his name as Mr Byrd, said: ‘I’ve got the sheets to board up the business.’

Asked he if would be leaving following the mandatory evacuation order for a huge part of Hillsborough County – the main county for Tampa, he replied: ‘We are going to play it by ear.

‘They haven’t determined which way it’s going to go, so it depends on how bad it looks later on.

‘I’ve been through this before, with Hurricane Irma in 2017. We evacuated to Lakeland, Florida, and that got it. So you never know what’s best.

With the man upstairs, I’m hoping like always things will swing in the right direction. We pray a lot.’

All public schools in Hillsborough County are shut from today (Monday) through Thursday.

Ron DeSantis as #HurricaneIan threatens Florida: "All you new Floridians who haven't been through one of these before... Remain calm, there's no need to panic. Listen to the folks at the local level, listen to what they advise in terms of preparations, any evacuations." pic.twitter.com/SrR0t764ia
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) September 26, 2022

The county’s mandatory evacuation order is for Zone A, which is red on the Hillsborough map. People in Zone B have been told to consider voluntary evacuation.

Many have been left empty handed after others stockpiled the basic's such as water, with one woman telling CBS 'I tried to get water, but it's no more. not too much at this moment.'

People have been desperate to fill up on gas, causing huge queues at many stations as others are preparing by sandbagging roads outside their properties in an attempt to limit the damage.

Some residents in Florida are being forced to queue for more than two hours to get sandbags ahead of the storm hitting.

Tampa, Miami, Cape Coral and Orlando are all seeing an increase in congestion higher than usual for this time of year, which could indicate more people are fleeing the state or are using their time to stock up on essentials.

People in Havana, Cuba were spotted today queuing for bread to stock up on bare essentials while waiting for Hurricane Ian to hit, as fisherman prepare to move their boats from a canal.

DeSantis also waived weight restrictions for trucks carrying essential goods, with 2 million meals and a million gallons of water standing by ready to be distributed.

Jose Lugo told WFTV he knows what can happen if the worst hits and has been preparing by filling up bags of sand alongside other community member in Orange County.

He said: 'It's better to be prepared than sorry later, I was in Puerto Rico visiting my parents a couple days before Fiona hit.

'I was helping them out, and now I'm here helping myself and everybody else.'

Some areas in Tampa are having to show proof of residency to gain access to the sandbags, with a 10-bag limit per house.

Tampa's Mayor, Jane Castor, said that they are 'preparing for the worst and hoping for the best' when it comes to preparing for the hurricane.

Authorities in Cuba suspended classes in the Pinar del Rio province on Sunday and said they will begin evacuations on Monday as Ian was forecast to strengthen before reaching the western part of the island on its way to Florida.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Grand Cayman and the Cuban provinces of Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio and Artemisa.

The US National Hurricane Centre said Ian should reach the far-western part of Cuba late on Monday or early on Tuesday, hitting near the country's tobacco fields.

At 5am on Monday, Ian was moving north west at 13mph, about 90 miles south west of Grand Cayman, and had maximum sustained winds of 75mph.

Director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie said 'everyone in Florida is going to feel the impacts of the storm.'

A major concern is how quickly the storm can intensify, stressed Jason Dunion, director of NOAA's hurricane research field program.

Hurricane Ian is now projected to hit southwest Florida beginning Tuesday morning.

He said: 'The storm can increase in speed 35 miles per hour in one day. You can go from a tropical storm to a Category 1, or Category 1 to a Category 3 in just that 24-hour period.

'That makes it especially important for folks to pay attention to this storm the next couple of days.'

DeSantis activated the National Guard on Sunday morning, saying though the path of the storm is still uncertain, the impacts will be broadly felt throughout the state.

State and federal disaster declarations were made over the weekend, with one model projecting Ian to make landfall in the Tampa Bay region while another model is projecting landfall into the Panhandle.

DeSantis said: 'We're going to keep monitoring the track of this storm. But it really is important to stress the degree of uncertainty that still exists.

He added: 'If you're not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there's going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state'.

A tropical storm watch has been put in place over the lower Florida Keys on Sunday evening and has advised Floridians to have hurricane plans in place and monitor updates of the storm's evolving path.