September 27, 2022 Florida braces for Hurricane Ian

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor speaks at a press convention on Tuesday.

While Tampa Mayor Jane Castor on Tuesday morning mentioned the forecast for Hurricane Ian’s affect on the town “hasn’t changed a great deal,” the slow-moving storm is anticipated to deliver a “devastating amount of water” to the Tampa Bay space.

Castor additionally mentioned she obtained a name from President Biden, who mentioned he additionally had Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell in his workplace.

“He just wanted to ensure that we had all the resources that we needed and clearly wishing us the best,” Castor mentioned.

Castor mentioned a thunderstorm on Monday night already saturated the bottom and precipitated avenue closures.

“We are doing all that we can right now … to mitigate pumping water out of our stormwater ponds, letting water over the dam, doing all that we can to make sure that that water has a clear path, somewhere to go,” the mayor mentioned.

“It’s going to be in our rivers, it’s going to be in our streams, it’s going to be in our canals, it’s going to be in our stormwater drains and ditches,” Castor added. 

“It can get better if the storm comes ashore a little south of us, and I don’t know that it can get much worse, but I’m sure there’s a scenario that says that it could,” the mayor mentioned. “Right now, a storm that slows down for 24 to 48 hours and just continuously dumps rain into the Tampa Bay area is devastating.”

A curfew is anticipated to be applied, Castor mentioned.

“We are prepared to secure these neighborhoods as best we can so that anyone that does not belong in these neighborhoods is not coming back in post evacuation,” Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor added.

Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Barbara Tripp mentioned crews are presently serving to to evacuate the nursing houses which can be within the evacuation space, aiding with evacuating these sufferers to services on greater grounds. At least 41 sufferers from a nursing dwelling in south Tampa are being relocated to central Tampa, Tripp mentioned.

City officers have additionally been talking to CEOs of hospitals all through the town.

O’Connor mentioned a storm barrier has been put up round Tampa General Hospital.

“So this is going to be the test right here, but I’ve talked to them and they aren’t evacuating anyone at this point,” O’Connor mentioned. “But they have systems in place that individuals will be protected. And they have plenty of resources, generators working, and they’re comfortable that they can protect their patients at Tampa General.”