President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the federal government is “on alert and in action” as major Hurricane Ian is slated to hit Florida later in the afternoon.
“We have approved every request Florida has made for temporary assistance, emergency assistance, and long-term assistance,” he said, adding that “hundreds of FEMA personnel” and thousands of National Guard members have been dispatched to the Sunshine State. A search and rescue team is currently on the ground, the president said.
“President Biden spoke this evening with Governor DeSantis of Florida to discuss the steps the Federal government is taking to help Florida prepare for Hurricane Ian,” Jean-Pierre wrote on Twitter. “The President and the Governor committed to continued close coordination.”
Both Biden and DeSantis on Wednesday, during separate events, warned that people should heed local officials’ warnings and directions.
“This storm is incredibly dangerous, to state the obvious. It’s life-threatening. You should obey all warnings and directions from emergency officials. Don’t take anything for granted. Use their judgment, not yours. Evacuate when ordered. Be prepared,” he said Wednesday.
The federal government, Biden added, will be there to help rebuild areas that were devastated by Hurricane Ian.
“You need to get to higher ground, you need to get to structures that are safe,” DeSantis said, adding that widespread power outages would leave millions without electricity once the storm strikes. Ian is likely to make its first landfall in Charlotte County, he said, while the National Hurricane Center (NHC) models show that it will strike around 2 p.m. ET.
According to an 11 a.m. update, the NHC said Ian is near-Category 5 strength with 155 mph winds. The “extremely dangerous” eyewall of Ian is now moving onshore as some areas around western Florida’s coast will see between 12 and 18 feet of storm surge, the agency said.
The storm’s outer bands were already bringing heavy winds and rains to much of the Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning.
Earlier this week, authorities told more than 2.5 million residents to evacuate their homes for higher ground. But some, like Mark Feinman, a professional musician in St. Petersburg, chose to stay put.
