TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday morning said it is no longer safe for people to evacuate Floridians’ southwest coast and urged them to “hunker down” as Hurricane Ian could make landfall as a powerful Category 5 storm this afternoon.
“It is no longer possible to safely evacuate,” he said. “It’s time to hunker down and prepare for this storm. This is a powerful storm that should be treated like you would treat if a tornado was approaching your home.”
Ian strengthened overnight into an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane, packing sustained winds of up to 155 miles per hour. DeSantis said state officials are preparing for it to smash into the state as a Category 5, and make landfall on the Charlotte County coast.
