Hurricane Ian officially made landfall in Florida Wednesday at 3.05 pm (local time) as a Category 4 storm with winds of 155mph. The massive hurricane has already left more than one million customers without power in the state, canceled hundreds of flights, and caused major flooding in several cities.
Public officials urged residents who had failed to heed evacuation orders in vulnerable, low-lying areas to shelter in place as forecasters warned of “unsurvivable” storm surges of up to 18 feet in places.
According to multiple reports, destructive waves slammed into the entire southwest coastal front. The giant storm is expected to drop 12 -18 inches of rain on top of coastal surges.
President Joe Biden called and spoke to the mayor of Fort Myers, Florida, but was unable to reach three other elected officials in the badly hit state, according to the White House.
Don't Miss
The president reached Mayor Kevin Anderson and discussed the needs of the city, but he was not able to get through to the mayors of Cape Coral and Sarasota, as well as the Chair of Charlotte County.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged Floridians to hunker down, noting that it would be a “nasty” couple of days as the storm roars into the state.
Stay tuned for more updates.
