Hurricane Ian: Florida prepares for category four storm  

• As the hurricane barreling toward Florida’s coast strengthens to a category four storm, millions of Floridians are preparing for potentially fatal storm surges, devastating winds, and flooding.
• Later on Wednesday, Hurricane Ian, which has already devastated western Cuba, will make landfall in Florida.
• It is anticipated to impact the Tampa Bay area, one of the US regions most susceptible to severe floods.

As the hurricane barreling toward Florida’s coast strengthens to a category four storm, millions of Floridians are preparing for potentially fatal storm surges, devastating winds, and flooding.

Later on Wednesday, Hurricane Ian, which has already devastated western Cuba, will make landfall in Florida.

It is anticipated to impact the Tampa Bay area, one of the US regions most susceptible to severe floods.

It would be the first big hurricane to directly hit the area since 1921.

“About 100 years have passed since a direct impact occurred in Tampa. They’ve simply had a lot of luck, “the International Hurricane Research Center’s associate director, Erik Salna, stated.

A catastrophic tidal surge is more likely in areas with a big population, rising sea levels, and low elevation. According to Mr. Salna, all three are present in the Tampa area.

If directly hit, the area may become “unrecognizable” in the coming days, he said. “There is a possibility.”

According to air force hurricane hunters, Hurricane Ian was around 75 miles (125 km) off the coast when the National Hurricane Center (NHC) declared it to be a category four storm at 05:00 local time (09:00 GMT).

This indicates that it is extremely dangerous, with winds of up to 240 km/h expected (143 mph).

As Ian got closer to the coast, the National Weather Service reported that tornadoes had already been spotted in southern Florida. As of 03:00 local time (07:00 GMT), the NHC reported that tropical storm force winds were beginning to hit the shores of the southeast and southwest Florida.

A weather flow station on the eastern shore recorded a steady wind of 63 km/h (39 mph), according to a tweet from the center, while a station on the western coast recorded a sustained wind of 56 km/h (35 mph).

As it approaches Florida, Ian is anticipated to slow down, thereby extending the storm’s effects and posing a threat of up to 20 inches (1.6 feet) of rain in certain regions.

And if it does impact Tampa, it will do it in one of the most populous regions in the state.

With people and buildings strewn along the primarily low-lying beach, development has exploded along the Tampa region’s almost 700 miles (1,1200 km) of coastline over the past 50 years.

“We have come closer to the shore and the water. This is a trainwreck of human nature in its own right “said Richard Olson, director of Florida International University’s extreme events institute (FIU).

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