Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 24 Florida counties that are potentially in the path of Tropical Storm Ian.
He said the storm has the potential to strengthen and become a major hurricane in the next few days.
DeSantis issued the order on Friday, encouraging residents and local governments to make preparations, such as stocking their homes with food, water, and medicine.
He said the storm will possibly cause heavy rainfall, strong winds, flash flooding, as well as isolated tornadic activity.
“Today, I signed an Executive Order issuing a State of Emergency due to the threat of Tropical Depression 9,” DeSantis said in a statement. “This storm has the potential to strengthen into a major hurricane and we encourage all Floridians to make their preparations. We are coordinating with all state and local government partners to track potential impacts of this storm.”
The 24 counties include the following:
- Brevard
- Broward
- Charlotte
- Collier
- DeSoto
- Glades
- Hardee
- Hendry
- Highlands
- Hillsborough
- Indian River
- Lee
- Manatee
- Martin
- Miami-Dade
- Monroe
- Okeechobee
- Osceola
- Palm Beach
- Pasco
- Pinellas
- Polk
- Sarasota
- St. Lucie
The release notes that DeSantis also requested a federal pre-landfall emergency declaration in anticipation of impacts from the storm.
The declaration, according to the release, “will make available important resources and support, as well as free up funding sources for emergency protective measures. Under the emergency order, members of the Florida National Guard will be activated and on standby awaiting orders.”
John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist with National Hurricane Center in Miami, said it is currently unclear where Ian will hit hardest in Florida and said residents should begin preparing for the storm, including gathering supplies for potential power outages.
Too soon to say if it's going to be a southeast Florida problem or a central Florida problem or just the entire state,” he said. “So at this point really the right message for those living in Florida is that you have to watch forecasts and get ready and prepare yourself for potential impact from this tropical system.”
Meanwhile, strong rain and winds are lashing the Atlantic Canada region as a powerful post-tropical cyclone made landfall there, with forecasters warning it could be one of the most severe storms in the county's history. Fiona made landfall in Nova Scotia before dawn Saturday.
More than 500,000 customers in Atlantic Canada have been affected by outages. Ocean waves pounded the town of Port Aux Basques on the southern coast of Newfoundland, where entire structures were washed into the sea.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.