Florida prepares for Hurricane Ian

The entire west coast of Florida, from the Keys all the way north to the capital Tallahassee, is preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Ian which could reach Category 4 strength in the next few hours.

As of 8 p.m. Monday, the US National Hurricane Center predicted the hurricane would land in western Cuba late Monday or early Tuesday morning. Then it would pass west of the Keys during the day before reaching the Tampa Bay area early Wednesday. A 3-meter storm surge and up to 25 centimeters of rain, or even 40 centimeters in places, are predicted for the Tampa Bay area, posing a flood risk to lower-lying communities.

Moreover, the inhabitants of all the zone A of Tampa Bay were ordered to leave the places. "We've asked people all over Area A which is along the coast to get ready to leave," Mayor Jane Cantor said in a press briefing Monday afternoon. We have 126 miles [203 kilometers] of waterfront just for our city. People don't need to stray too far, but stay away from the coast, because the first concern is the storm surge. »

In the Tampa and St. Petersburg area, the arrival of the hurricane is causing a lot of talk because the region has not been shaken by such a major weather event for a century.

But before Tampa Bay, it is the Keys, and especially Key West at the very end of the archipelago, which will be the first American areas affected. "We have been preparing for two days already," Key West Mayor Teri Johnston said in an interview with La Presse Monday morning. We ask people to have a seven-day reserve: water, food, medicine. If they have a generator, let them check that it is in good condition. »

She continues: “At the municipality, all our non-essential vehicles have been sheltered in a high garage. We cleaned our storm drains. And approximately every three hours, we communicate with citizens to inform them of the evolution of the situation. »

Key West has a population of 26,000 to which are added, at present, about 20,000 tourists, many of whom are Canadians.

“For the moment, we have not declared an evacuation order. So the tourists are still here, says Mayor Johnston. The storm promises to be powerful and we anticipate a lot of rain, wind and localized flooding, which can go up to one meter. What worries me the most are the people living on the boats. They must return to land and find refuge. The port will be closed Monday evening at 10 p.m. by the coast guard. People off the coast better get back. »

NASA, for its part, decided to cancel the launch and return its 98-meter-high Artemis-1 mega-rocket to its hangar. Due to technical problems, the launch of the rocket has already been postponed several times. But the decision to bring it back to the hangar is “the right decision,” NASA associate administrator Jim Free said in a tweet.

At a press conference on Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who declared a state of emergency, said 5,000 members of the National Guard were on alert. Two thousand other members of the Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina National Guard are also ready to intervene. "There is nothing to panic about, but be prepared," the governor said.

In Quebec, tour operators and airlines are also monitoring the situation closely.

“We had a flight to Cuba (Santa Clara/Cayo Coco) on Sunday and for this one, we applied our hurricane policy,” said Bernard Côté, director of marketing, public relations and social media for Transat. We have created an internal unit to monitor the situation and we talk to each other several times a day. If there is a risk that the hurricane will impact our travelers, we contact them. »

In the event of a hurricane, Transat can send a plane to pick up customers on site earlier. Customers can also change the dates of their vacation. "We don't want people to go to dangerous places. The priority is everyone's safety,” says Mr. Côté.

https://www.turnkeylinux.org/user

https://www.diigo.com/profile/dagmardamores

https://www.intensedebate.com/people/dagmardamores

https://www.thebestof.co.uk/local/abingdon/members/view/profile/?id=6332bc090a6f6c53f217fb803

https://www.hltv.org/profile/1583340/dagmardamores

https://dagmardamores.picturepush.com/album/3199601/p-King-Cobra-Gummies.html

https://8tracks.com/dagmardamores

https://forum.kajgana.com/members/dagmardamores.158072/#about

https://dagmardamores.shivtr.com/members/3242561

https://www.designspiration.com/dagmardamores/saves/

https://dribbble.com/dagmardamores/about

https://v4.phpfox.com/dagmardamores