Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Some got the chance to take the last direct flight from Tampa Bay to Buffalo before Category 3 Hurricane Ian strikes Florida, but some who don't have to evacuate are choosing to stay in and brace for impact.
Hurricane Ian is rapidly approaching Florida. It has already done significant damage in Cuba. On Tuesday, Floridians and Buffalonians took the last Southwest flight direct from Tampa Bay to Buffalo before they had to chance to look the hurricane in the eye.
Robert Waechter and Gordon Webber of St. Petersburg were one of those lucky few to get a plane ride out of Tampa Bay. They bought their tickets months in advance, ironically. They planned a cruise. Waechter described what it's like knowing your home is about to face the hurricane, "Total turmoil, very difficult. Owning a home on the water with the eye of the storm headed your way and knowing that your entire investment i at risk of heavy heavy damage... knowing there could potentially be six feet of water in our backyard in two days, that's giving me goosebumps right now and almost tears."
Jessica Garra, a Hamburg native who went to the Bills v. Dolphins game in Miami bought her plane ticket a week in advance and is glad she escaped in time, "It was really nice because I know my friend doesn't fly out until tomorrow and my cousin flies out tonight, and I know they're worried about it. So it's nice to be home."
"I think if I would have gotten stuck in Fort Lauderdale before I got to Tampa, I'd be okay. Because I'm near family, I don't have to worry. Being by myself, I think, if I was stuck in Tampa, it'd be a little nerve-wracking," Garra said.
Her family is prepared, "They kind of know the drill. They didn't seem too worried mostly because they are on the east side. They aren't really worry about getting hit too hard."
Waetcher reminded us that there hasn't been a hurricane of this caliber in the Tampa Bay area for over a century, "A lot of people obviously have not lived through that and they just see these near misses and they're just like 'Oh, it's no big deal. We're just gonna stay put, we'll hunker down,' Not a good idea."
Rick Lenard, who currently resides in Estero, Florida between Fort Meyers and Bonita Springs says that he is prepared to see a lot of flooding and wasn't told to evacuate, "Right now (09/27/22, 4 p.m.) it's raining, but the wind is maybe 10 miles an hour. That's supposed to change over the next 24 hours. We're well prepared with plenty of food and water. We have hurricane glass windows throughout our house and a generator. So we're going to be riding it out."
"We're at 15-feet in elevation and about eight miles 8 to 10 miles from the coast on the east side of Route 75, which what I'm told from other locals is that have been here before, East of 75, is relatively safe. We expect a lot of rain. The canals and drainage in the ponds in our community will probably overflow, but it's it's the nature of the beast," Lenard notes.
Lenard says most people are following suit and residents in his area are expecting a close miss, "It seems that the storm is going a little bit more north of Fort Myers more into the Punta Gorda, Venice, up into Tampa area from the forecast at this point. It's a chance to take but most of the residents have hurricane glass or generators or they've been through this before. Being a former Buffalo resident, I've seen 60 years of blizzards, so you just prepare for the best and whatever happens happens and you deal with it as a community."