Updated 12:35 p.m. EST — The mayors of Cape Coral and Sarasota gave updates on Hurricane Ian, saying that conditions in both cities are getting noticeably worse, with storm surges in the areas possibly getting catastrophic.
Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter shared with CNN that the storm surge could reach 16 to 18 feet in the city, saying it "would definitely be catastrophic for our area, and that is one of our major concerns." In total, the city is expecting 12 to 14 inches of rain.
"I was outside about 45 minutes ago and the winds have picked up, very high winds," Gunter said. "We know that it's going to continue to increase. We're well over tropical storm winds. It's raining extremely hard. So, the conditions are definitely getting worse."
In Sarasota, Mayor Erik Arroyo announced that the city would be withdrawing its police officers from the streets due to the hazardous conditions.
"We just made the decision just now to withdraw all of our police officers from the streets just because of the sustained wind pressure that we've been having," Arroyo said.
Those still in their homes are advised to follow Governor Ron DeSantis' warning and hunker down while the storm passes.
"It is too late to evacuate at this point," Arroyo said.
Gunter shared that plans are in place for when Hurricane Ian passes as officials continue to monitor the storm.
"So at this point, all we have is ourselves as a community, so take care of your neighbors. Because we're in this together. And we'll make it through," Arroyo said.
Updated 10:16 a.m. EST — The National Hurricane Center shared on Wednesday that Hurricane Ian had become "extremely dangerous," strengthening to a Category 4 storm as winds hit a maximum of 155 mph.
Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter shared with CNN that the storm surge could reach 16 to 18 feet in the city, saying it "would definitely be catastrophic for our area, and that is one of our major concerns." In total, the city is expecting 12 to 14 inches of rain.
"I was outside about 45 minutes ago and the winds have picked up, very high winds," Gunter said. "We know that it's going to continue to increase. We're well over tropical storm winds. It's raining extremely hard. So, the conditions are definitely getting worse."
Ian is expected to hit the Florida Peninsula on Wednesday, bringing life-threatening storm surges, flooding rains, and catastrophic winds.
The storm is also bringing a chance of tornadoes, with several warnings and watches being issued throughout the state. Florida is bracing for the storm with mandatory evacuation orders on the state's west coast in the Tampa and Fort Myers areas.
The National Hurricane Center has expanded its hurricane warning to over 150 miles of the state's Gulf Coast.
Florida Power and Light also warned that residents could expect power outages throughout the state because of the storm.
Walt Disney World in Florida announced that its theme parks and water parks would be closed on Wednesday and Thursday due to the fast-approaching storm. The theme park shared the update on Twitter, saying it would "provide updates" while the storm progresses on whether or not the park would be closed for any days past Thursday.
The storm wreaked havoc on Cuba Tuesday. Ian left up to 16 inches of rain and mudslides, with flash flooding across parts of Cuba, according to the hurricane center.
This is a developing story.
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