Hurricane Ian is now Category 2; still intensifying

Hurricane Ian is now a Category 2 hurricane and continues to “rapidly intensify” ahead of its impact on Florida later this week.

South Florida and the Florida Keys are expected to face the Tropical-storm winds later tonight as Ian becomes a major hurricane at the same time in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

Florida’s west coast is expected to be worst affected by Hurricane Ian and the areas under the highest risk start from Ft. Myers to Tampa Bay region, with moderate flash flood warnings.

Some areas of Florida have not seen a hurricane this extreme in about a hundred years, and residents are still in shock. The White House has announced that it will help assist local and state officials in combating Hurricane Ian after declaring its own State of Emergency. President Biden has also suspended Tuesday’s scheduled visit.

Florida’s Division of Emergency Management’s response to Hurricane Ian

Florida’s Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) has “activated the State Assistance Information Line (SAIL) to provide an additional resource for Floridians to receive up-to-date information regarding Hurricane Ian. Residents and visitors can call this toll-free hotline at 1-800-342-3557.”

FDEM is leading Florida’s Emergency response and is deploying hundreds of shelter support staff to help with the staffing needs of the counties that have opened the hurricane shelters.

Over 500 “resource requests” have been received by the FDEM out of which, 466, have been successfully fulfilled. The pending requests are either being actively processed or being mobilized ASAP. A supply chain has been built to provide food and water, pumps and generators to the affected areas.

Five Urban Search and Rescue Teams have been made which will deploy to the areas impacted by Hurricane Ian, while three more Federal USAR Teams are on standby to help.

Over 27,000 power restoration personnel are on standby as well to help the impacted areas after the storm subsides.

360 trailers have been loaded with over 2 million meals and over a million gallons of water for distribution to the impacted areas. All 67 counties that are expected to be affected are in constant contact with the FDEM to bolster coordination.

The National Guard’s response

Apart from the FDEM, Gov. Ron DeSantis has authorized a total of 5,000 Florida Guardsmen to help with State Active Duty. The Guardsmen will be pre-positioned at armories across Florida for Hurricane Ian.

Along with the 5,000 Florida Guardsmen, 2,000 Guardsmen from Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina are also being activated to help. The National Guard is already helping with staffing and supporting the State Logistics Response Center in Orlando.

They have already been mobilized and are on standby, readily available with five Route Clearance Teams and Aviation assets.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Health have also prepared for the impact.

The FDLE’s “mutual aid team is coordinating evacuation missions in Cedar Key and security for ambulance response teams who are staging prior to Hurricane Ian.”

While the DOH has prepared for Special Needs Shelter operations to begin in areas of anticipated landfall. The Department of Health is also supporting the shelters in areas of expected landfall. Around 300 ambulances, paratransit busses, and sup[port vehicles are being deployed.

Water is expected to reach up to 10 feet in some areas. Stay safe Florida.