Tampa Mayor Jane Castor held a press conference Monday afternoon to talk about the city’s preparedness for Hurricane Ian.
Castor spoke about the possible dangers of storm surges, saying “we are looking at the possibility of having a 10-15 foot storm surge.”
“Obviously that would be very devastating to our community,” Castor said.
Castor advised residents to heed the warnings and not “make last-minute decisions.”
“We can never accurately predict these storms. It’s mother nature, and the only element that wins 100% of the time is mother nature,” Castor said.
“Right now the prediction is that we’re going to be impacted by Hurricane Ian,” Castor added.
Earlier today, evacuation orders were announced for parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Castor said 49 shelters are open, some of which accept pets and some of which accommodate residents with special needs.
“The City of Tampa is prepared and we want to make sure all of our citizens are prepared,” Castor said.
Castor advised the public to stay informed by signing up for update alerts as “things can change minute by minute”.
On Monday, the City of Tampa’s Citizen Information Line was activated to help residents with “urgent questions regarding the storm.” Residents can call the center for immediate assistance until 8 p.m. ET on Monday, and every other day from 8 a.m. ET until midnight until further notice.
“It’s going to be a storm like we’ve never seen in the past,” Castor said, adding, “I want everyone to understand the seriousness of this situation.”
“We’re not trying to instill fear. We just ask everyone to be responsible, to be aware of what this storm may bring us,” Castor said.