Floodwaters rushed streets and washed over lawns along Florida’s southwest coast on Wednesday as heavy rains and strong winds from historic Hurricane Ian roared closer to its expected landfall in a few hours.
The storm’s eyewall was moving across Sanibel and Captiva Island, the National Hurricane Center said in a midday advisory. Ian had grown to near-Category 5 strength, with winds of 155 mph and prompted mandatory evacuation orders for 2.5 million Floridians, though for those who haven’t yet fled it may be too late to to leave.
“It’s going to have significant, significant impacts in terms of wind, in terms of rain, in terms of flooding,” Gov. Ron DeSantis warned at a briefing Wednesday. “So this is going to be a nasty, nasty day, two days.”
More than 250,000 South Florida homes and businesses were already in the dark, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us. Power outages are to be expected across the state, Florida Power & Light warned.
AccuWeather projects landfall sometime this afternoon south of Venice and north of Fort Myers. As of 11 a.m., the center of the storm was located 45 miles west-northwest of Naples. Ian will batter much of the state with life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and flooding, the National Hurricane Center said.
“We are now forecasting a catastrophic storm surge of 12 to 16 feet from Englewood to Bonita Beach,” the hurricane center’s advisory warned.
Ian’s impressive wind speeds were within 2 mph of Category 5, the highest status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
• Hurricane Tracker: Where is Ian going? See the map.
• Forecast: Ian is likely to spend days dumping rain in Florida. Here’s the perspective.
Slowing storm means 24 hours of ‘wind pushing water’
National Weather Service Director Ken Graham said the storm was moving at 9 mph and was slowing. It will take 24 hours or more to cross the state, he said: “24 hours of rain, 24 hours of wind pushing the water.”
Some areas will see 24 inches of rain, some will see storm surges of 18 feet, he said.
“This is a devastating storm for parts of Florida, not just on the southwest coast but inland,” he said. “This is going to be a storm we’ll be talking about for years to come. It’s a historic event.”
Georgia, South Carolina to see Ian’s fury
Ian was expected to weaken after landfall, the hurricane center said, but the storm could remain near hurricane strength as it moves up Florida’s east coast on Thursday. And it could still hold its power as it nears the coasts of Northeast Florida, Georgia and South Carolina late Friday.
Heavy rain will extend across the Florida peninsula through Thursday. Widespread, prolonged and record river flooding is expected in central Florida, the hurricane center said. The water problems will reach other states later this week and this weekend.
“Widespread catastrophic and life-threatening flooding is expected in parts of central Florida with significant flooding in South Florida, North Florida, Southeast Georgia and coastal South Carolina,” the service said in an advisory.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency order for the entire state and said up to 500 National Guard troops were being prepared to be called out if needed.
FEMA: Storm surge, flooding top concerns
Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Deanne Criswell says her biggest concern is the expected storm surge and inland flooding from the heavy rains as the storm moves through Florida for the next two days. He urged residents across the state to heed warnings from local officials about the “historic and catastrophic impacts we’re already starting to see.”
“The water is dangerous, period,” Criswell said at a briefing Wednesday. “From coastal storm surge to inland flooding, most of the state of Florida is in Ian’s crosshairs.”
PREPARE YOUR POOL FOR A HURRICANE: Pool Owners Guide
Even Waffle Houses are closing
The Waffle House chain, known for its waffles, fries and always-open doors, said it had closed 21 restaurants in Florida because of Ian. The Waffle House Storm Center, a team that mobilizes during extreme weather conditions, has been monitoring the storm’s path since Ian was a named storm, said Waffle House vice president of public relations Njeri Boss. The chain was working with local governments and emergency officials around the clock to see if other outlets needed to be closed, he said.
“We have closures in mandatory evacuation areas and areas within low-lying areas that are subject to severe flooding,” Boss told USA TODAY on Wednesday.
Social media took notice. Twitter user Ted Vician posted that “everything else is foreshadowing. Waffle House closing means things are about to get real.”
– Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY
WAFFLE HOUSE OUTLETS BOW TO IAN:How badly will the hurricane affect Florida? Waffle House closings predict a powerful explosion from Ian
Too late to escape for some
DeSantis warned that the highest risk was in the west coast counties of Collier, Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota. It is expected to make landfall for Charlotte County.
“If you’re in any of those counties, it’s no longer possible to safely evacuate,” DeSantis said. “Time to buckle down and prepare for this storm.”
WHAT IS THE STORM?:Explanation of the deadliest and most destructive threat of a hurricane
Follower of Hurricane Ian
Tornadoes hit Florida
Tornadoes were also a risk. Ripples were possible through Wednesday night in central and south Florida, the hurricane center said. CBS4-TV reported that at least 10 mobile homes were damaged by a possible tornado Tuesday in Davie, a Broward County city of 110,000 about 25 miles north of Miami. Another possible tornado was also reported in Broward County.
WHAT IS THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SPEED SCALE?Breakdown of the scale of hurricane categories
DEVASATION OF CUBA:‘Apocalyptic’ photos show Cuba plunged into darkness after Hurricane Ian triggers blackout
Ian puts Cuba in the dark
Cuba was left in the dark early Wednesday after Hurricane Ian knocked out its power grid and devastated homes, businesses and valuable tobacco farms as it hit the western tip of the island on Tuesday as a storm of category 3. Authorities were working to gradually restore service to the country’s 11 million inhabitants, the Cuban Electric Union said in a statement.
“The damage is great, although it has not yet been possible to explain. Aid is already arriving from all over the country,” said Cuban President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez on Twitter. “Rest assured we will recover.”
Airports, traffic, theme parks prepare for the storm
Airports in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Key West were closed Wednesday. Orlando International was scheduled to close at 10:30 a.m., and at least 700 inbound and outbound flights were canceled early Wednesday.
Miami-Dade County suspended Metrobus, Metrorail and other transit services “until further notice.” Disney World and Sea World theme parks in Orlando closed ahead of the storm.
A couple from England on vacation in Tampa found themselves facing the storm in a shelter. Glyn and Christine Williams, from London, were told to leave their hotel near the beach when evacuations were ordered. Because the airport closed, they couldn’t get a flight home.
“Unfortunately, all the hotels are full or closed, so it looks like we’ll be in one of the shelters,” Christine Williams said.
Collaborators: Douglas Soule and Sergio Bustos, USA Today Network-Florida; The Associated Press
