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White House, FEMA urge Florida residents to evacuate if required


Hurricane Ian swept across the Gulf of Mexico on September 27, 2022.

NOAA

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Tuesday urged Floridians not to underestimate Hurricane Ian and listen to local officials as the Category 3 storm approaches the coast.

“Get ready and don’t underestimate what this storm can bring,” Criswell said at a White House news conference, adding that she was concerned about people’s “complacency”. people, especially those who have not experienced this great storm before.

“We’re talking about impacts in parts of Florida that haven’t seen a direct impact in nearly 100 years,” Criswell said.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded Hurricane Ian to a Category 3 hurricane Tuesday morning, which means it could deliver winds of up to 125 mph. Criswell said some areas will see up to 25 inches of rain, in addition to storm surge, which is expected to reach 10 feet.

She warned that tornadoes are not uncommon after a storm of this magnitude.

“If people are told to evacuate by local authorities, please listen to them. The decision you make could be the difference between life and death,” Criswell said.

As of 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the storm was about 200 miles off the coast of Sarasota, Florida at 10 mph with maximum wind speeds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. is 115 miles per hour. Storms can quickly gain strength.

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey making landfall in Texas rose from Category 1 to Category 4 the next day. That same year, Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, went from Category 1 to Category 5 within 15 hours.

Hurricane Ian is now expected to make landfall “somewhere between Fort Myers and Tampa,” Criswell said.

“By the time it reaches the Florida coast, the storm will have slowed to about 5 miles per hour, and this is important because it means Floridians will have to bear the effects of the storm for a while. very long”. she added.

FEMA’s biggest concern is high tides, Criswell said. It’s one of the most dangerous aspects of hurricanes, she notes. Five people died from high tides in Florida during Hurricane Michael in 2018.

Criswell said she spoke with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday, and noted that FEMA is working with federal, state and nonprofit partners to prepare for the storm. President Joe Biden spoke to the mayors of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater on Tuesday morning.

Emergency responders prepared 128,000 gallons of fuel and moved generators nearby to prepare for the aftermath, Criswell said. Nearly 4 million meals and 3.5 million liters of water were held in Alabama for the evacuees, and the Red Cross established 29 shelters with an additional 60 ready to go.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misrepresented the expected speed of the storm as it reached Florida.



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