Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told CNN New Day on Wednesday that Hurricane Ian will have catastrophic effects and warned people who did not evacuate to make sure they put themselves in themselves and their families in a safe place.
“It’s going to have catastrophic impacts, and not just where we’re going to see the storm make landfall, but we’re also very concerned about any flooding inland because it’s bringing a lot of rain and it’s going to move slowly.” , did she say. “Which means people in the way are going to be impacted for a long time.”
Criswell said his biggest concern is water, both storm surge and inland flood water, as water is a leading cause of death in these storms.
FEMA has search and rescue teams in place, she said, which are currently stationed in Miami and include people from a number of groups, including the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard. Americans.
Criswell said they were already feeling the storm’s impacts.
“As the storm moves on and our search and rescue teams can enter safely, they will begin to search these areas to see and assess the damage, but most importantly they will be looking for people who may be in need. help getting out of the area,” she said. “We’re going to track this storm as soon as it’s safe for these teams to get in and make sure we find someone who needs help.”
“If you haven’t evacuated yet, you need to stay, you need to shelter in place, you need to go to the highest part of your house and you need to make sure that you put yourself and your family in somewhere safe until emergency responders can get to you,” Criswell said, adding that they won’t wait until the storm has completely passed, but until FEMA says it is. safe for emergency responders.
“But just because they’re away doesn’t mean individuals should be away, they should stay put until the storm has completely passed,” she said. “And then when they go out they have to be very careful, so many dangers that are going to be out there with flooding, water, downed power lines, a lot of dangers out there even after the storm has passed. ”