Hurricane Ian was poised to deliver catastrophic damage to parts of southwestern Florida yesterday, after the powerful Category 4 Hurricane made landfall.
With sustained winds of 240 KM/H at the time of its first landfall on Cayo Costa, a barrier island west of Cape Coral and Fort Myers, Florida, at 3.05 pm, major storm surge and extremely dangerous winds swept across parts of western Florida.
Hurricane, tropical storm, and storm surge watches and warnings were in effect for multiple areas across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, as Ian soared on a path of destruction across the southeastern United States.
Yesterday afternoon, the National Weather Center included a rare Extreme Wind Warning for over 3,000 square miles of southwestern Florida extending from Sarasota to Cape Coral, Florida. This type of warning indicates the eyewall of a hurricane is coming ashore and is typically reserved for wind speeds of at least 115 MPH. The warning is so exceptional that it took over a decade for its first issuance after it was developed and it has been issued less than 15 times.
Many Floridians took the opportunity ahead of the well-forecast storm to evacuate or stock up on necessary supplies, including some of the Trinidadian diaspora in the state.
Speaking to Guardian Media, one Trinbagonian transplant, Rekha Balkaran-Bolai, who now resides in Jacksonville, Florida, that was yet to feel the brunt of Ian, said she is well prepared.
Balkaran-Bolai said, “We have been experiencing light rain for the past few hours. Within the last hour, the winds began to get stronger, but it comes every few minutes.”
She explained that ahead of the storm, her family stocked up on food, water, batteries and power banks.
Jacksonville, Florida, was under a Tropical Storm Warning and Storm Surge Warning at the time she was speaking, but the worst effects are expected to spread over the area by tonight.
She added, “We have secured all loose items around the house and got water stored in buckets in my garage for showering and the toilets.” Balkaran-Bolai also explained, “I’ve prepared for the loss of power. Without power, we have no water, can’t cook as the stove is electric.” Significant power outages are forecast across Florida following the passage of Hurricane Ian.
On Tuesday, Cuba was sent into darkness as Ian knocked out the island’s power grid.
As of 5 pm yesterday, nearly one million utility customers in Florida were without power. The state’s two largest utilities reported the most outages, including 726,000 in areas served by Florida Power and Light and about 150,000 Duke Energy customers across central Florida.
Ian is forecast to move across central Florida through today and emerge over the western Atlantic by late tonight. Ian is forecast to turn northward tomorrow and approach the northeastern Florida coast, Georgia, and South Carolina coasts late Friday. Significant storm surge, rains and winds are forecast for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, with tornados possible.
Contacted yesterday on whether they were monitoring Trinidadians in possible danger in Florida, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne said, “We have been monitoring the conditions of our diaspora and staff in Cuba and in the State of Florida, via our missions in Havana and Miami. Thus far, we have received no reports of casualties; a number of students in Cuba have been affected by widespread power outages.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s Consulate General in Miami, Florida, meanwhile closed from yesterday through Friday. In an update on the Consulate General’s website, it explained, “The Consulate will make itself available to National Scholars in case of emergency via telephone numbers 786-492-2095 or 786-566-1709. Kindly follow all official news channels and heed all emergency warnings and evacuation orders. Please take all appropriate measures to preserve life and secure property.”