‘This is a major, major storm’: DeSantis warns residents to shelter in place as Hurricane Ian lurches towards Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida officials and residents are preparing for a “catastrophic” natural disaster when Hurricane Ian makes landfall as early as Wednesday, bringing with it potentially deadly rain and winds that could leave Floridians without power for days.

With mere hours until the Category 4 hurricane makes landfall, Florida’s top officials said that bridges are now closed in some of the areas facing the greatest threat: Collier, Charlotte and Sarasota counties on the west coast. Scores of Floridians evacuated ahead of the massive storm, but for those that didn’t, they are now being directed to stay indoors at the risk of facing maximum winds clocking in at 155 miles per hour.

“If you are in any of those counties, it’s no longer possible to safely evacuate,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a Wednesday morning briefing. “It’s time to hunker down and prepare for this storm.”

More than two million residents are under evacuation orders and on Tuesday officials began moving residents in more than 90 nursing homes to safe areas. The storm has already left devastation in its wake, including knocking out power to the entire island of Cuba. At least 10,000 are without power in the Florida Keys.

As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, the hurricane was located some 80 miles southwest of Charlotte County and was “knocking on the door” of being a Category 5 storm, DeSantis said. Ian has the potential to be one of the most powerful storms in U.S. history.

With the storm bearing down on Florida, DeSantis and other officials say they are preparing for extensive efforts to restore power after Ian strikes. The state is also gearing up for search and rescue operations that could arise due to flooding. More than 5,000 national guard troops are activated and 40,000 workers in electricity services are on standby to help get power back to residents.

There are also some 19,000 “restoration personnel” stationed at the Columbia County fairgrounds in northcentral Florida gathered from more than 30 states, from linemen to tree trimming crews who will be critical to sweeping downed trees and eventually aiding power outages.

“You’re going to have millions without power in this state within the next 48 hours – no question,” DeSantis said in Columbia County.

“This is a major, major storm,” he said at an earlier press conference. “It will have major, major impacts.”

The National Hurricane Center warned Wednesday that Hurricane Ian is triggering “destructive” waves off Florida’s coast clearing between 12 and 16 feet above ground level from Englewood to Bonita Beach. NHS is predicting “widespread, life-threatening and catastrophic” flooding throughout central Florida and “considerable” flooding elsewhere in the state.

“Preparations to protect life and property should be urgently rushed to completion,” the NHC said Wednesday morning.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, speaking on MSNBC on Wednesday, also warned residents in evacuation areas to stay in place if they haven’t left their homes. Criswell emphasized that they have “moved the right personnel and the right resources in place to make sure that we can respond immediately, especially for those life-saving efforts.”

Criswell said later on CNN that there is a “robust search and rescue capability” stationed in Miami featuring members from the Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal and state officials.

DeSantis and President Joe Biden regularly trade barbs over a host of issues, including immigration and Covid mandates, but appear to be working together during this natural disaster. Biden on Wednesday said he spoke with DeSantis “for some time” and his team has been in constant contact with the governor.

“We are on alert and in action. Approved every request Florida has made for temporary assistance, emergency assistance long term assistance,” he said in Washington, D.C.

Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott, who served as the state’s governor for two terms and oversaw the response to four hurricanes, is also a consistent critic of the Biden administration. But on Fox News Wednesday, he praised Criswell and FEMA for its response.

"I talked to the administrator of FEMA yesterday. She is committed. A class act. She does a great job,” he said. "The first thing is FEMA has to do their job. I believe they will."

"My belief is each federal agency will do their job and part of my responsibility is to make sure they're doing their job," he said.

The state should also expect tornado warnings, which have already been felt in south Florida.

DeSantis said Wednesday that while not everyone followed evacuation orders, most people heeded the warnings and are taking the threat seriously.

“There’s gonna be a lot of fallout from this in terms of getting people back on their feet,” DeSantis said. “Right now, it’s about safety.”

The Florida governor likened the incoming Ian to Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm that rocked Florida’s panhandle in 2018 and had a devastating effect on local communities.

“This is going to be one of those historic storms, and it’s going to really shape the communities in southwest Florida and have a profound impact on our state,” DeSantis said. “So we just ask people for their thoughts and their prayers.”

Kelly Garrity contributed to this story.