Sarasota - Tuesday September 27, 2022: Governor DeSantis held news conferences in Tallahassee in Sarasota Tuesday, calling on the public to heed warnings and take Hurricane Ian seriously.
The governor emphasized the danger of Hurricane Ian which is coming ashore Wednesday as a major Category 3 Hurricane with the potential to cause devastating damage to Florida.
“It is a big storm, its going to kick up a lot of water as it comes in and you’re going to really end up with really significant storm surge," he said. "You’re going to end up with really significant flood events. And this is the type of storm surge that is life threatening.”
In addition, the Governor highlighted the forecast which predicts that Hurricane Ian will slow when it hits the west coast of the state, possibly in the Sarasota area.
“What that means is that it’s going to dump an inordinate amount of rain. So that could be in Sarasota, (it) could be a little bit inland. But I think most of the forecasts are anticipating a land fall, then a slow to almost a crawl, which is going to put a lot, a lot of saturation into the ground," said DeSantis. "So this is going to be a major water event, both in terms of the storm surge and in terms of the flooding.”
He urged residents in mandatory evacuation areas to heed the orders. “If you are in one of these low lying areas and you have the potential for ten, fifteen feet of storm surge that can absolutely be life threatening. Those orders are not taken lightly. I think that is what is the best to keep you safe.”