Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for all of Florida on Saturday as Tropical Storm Ian gained strength over the Caribbean and was forecast to become a major hurricane soon on a track toward the state, per the AP. DeSantis had initially issued the emergency order for two dozen counties on Friday. But he expanded the warning to the entire state, urging residents to prepare for a storm that could lash large swaths of Florida. “This storm has the potential to strengthen into a major hurricane and we encourage all Floridians to make their preparations,” DeSantis said. “We are coordinating with all state and local government partners to track potential impacts of this storm.”
President Biden also declared an emergency for the state, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance to protect lives and property. The president postponed a scheduled Sept. 27 trip to Florida due to the storm. The National Hurricane Center said Ian was forecast to strengthen before moving over western Cuba and toward the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle by the middle of next week. The agency said Floridians should have hurricane plans in place and advised residents to monitor updates of the storm's evolving path.
The center issued an updated advisory at 5am Sunday, noting the tropical storm was forecast to begin “rapidly strengthening later today” with the “risk of significant wind and storm surge impacts increasing for western Cuba.” Ian was expected to become a hurricane Sunday and a major hurricane as soon as late Monday. The storm had top sustained winds of 50mph on Sunday morning as it swirled about 345 miles southeast of Grand Cayman, in the Cayman Islands. Elsewhere, post-tropical cyclone Fiona crashed ashore Saturday in Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Canada region. The storm washed houses into the sea, tore rooftops off others, and knocked out power to the vast majority of two Canadian provinces.
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