In some points of the impact zone, the sea level can rise up to 4.8 meters
The eye of Hurricane Ian made landfall this Wednesday near Key Coast, in the southwest of Florida (USA), with winds of 150 miles per hour (240 km / h), reported the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States.
Ian, whose winds correspond to category 4 of the scale Saffir-Simpson, although touching the 5, which is the maximum, it has been described as a cyclone “incredibly dangerous” by the NHC, but so far there has been no information of damage or casualties.
According to AFP, which cites the specialized site poweroutage, Ian has already left a million homes without electricity.
In addition to its gale-force winds, Ian produced storm surge before reaching the river’s riparian zone. Gulf of Mexico, and it will continue to produce them, which increase the level of the sea and flood coastal areas that are usually dry.
In some points of the impact zone, the sea level can rise up to 16 feet (4.8 meters), according to the NHC.
In addition, it is unloading abundant rains in most of the state and tornadoes in areas close to Miami, where two people had to be hospitalized.
tourist towns like Fort Myers, Captiva Island and Sanibel are in the area where the hurricane hit.
On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to move inland from Florida tonight and Thursday morning and emerge over western Atlantic Thursday afternoon.
Ian will turn north on Friday and approach the northeast coast of Florida, in addition to the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina Friday evening.
Although weakening winds are expected after landfall, Ian could be near hurricane strength as it moves over the east coast of Florida tomorrow and as it approaches the northeastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Friday.
The previous major hurricane to hit Florida was Michael in 2018. Michael made landfall in Mexico Beach (northwest of the state) on October 10, 2018 with winds of 160 miles per hour (more than 250 km / h) and caused the sea level to rise up to 4.2 meters.
Although the impact zone is obviously the worst part, practically all of Florida is affected by Ian to a greater or lesser extent.
Of Florida’s 67 counties, all declared emergencies since Monday, 18 issued mandatory evacuation orders in anticipation of Ian’s arrival, according to the report. Federal Department of Emergency Management (FEMA).
The shelters were full and closed in the impact zone when Ian arrived and thousands of people chose to leave the coastal areas and move inland to protect their lives.
A few hours before the arrival of Ian, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, who warned that it was no longer possible to “evacuate safely”, asked to pray for those who have decided not to leave their homes in the mandatory evacuation zones.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism