Tropical Storm Ian: Floridians Clear Store Shelves, College Evacuates

Florida residents are scrambling to ready themselves as a potentially major tropical storm prepares to make landfall.

Tropical Storm Ian is currently on track to arrive in Florida sometime next week, with its current projected path running through most of the state. As of Saturday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted that the storm could be upgraded to a hurricane by the end of the day on Sunday, with the potential to reach Category 3 strength by the time it makes landfall.

In response, reports have emerged of Floridians cleaning out store shelves in anticipation of the storm's arrival. The Orlando Sentinel reported on Saturday that multiple major supermarkets in the city were running out of bottles and gallons of water, adding that a Walmart in the Metrowest area and a Target not far from it dealing with the same issue.

"We don't have anymore," an unnamed Orlando Walmart employee told customers as they attempted to buy water in bulk. "Come back later, we don't have anymore."

"This is the third store I visited today," resident Maritza Osorio told the newspaper as she left the Target store to head to another location in search of supplies. "If not, we'll have to try again tomorrow."

The NHC has predicted that Tropical Storm Ian will make landfall in Florida just to the north of Tampa, running through most of the central and northern regions of the state, and sparing southern areas like Miami. Despite this, experts have said that the storm's path could shift over the course of the weekend.

"The goal is to never be freaked out, but it doesn't have to be a major hurricane for it to cause damage," meteorologist Chris Gibson told the Orlando Sentinel. "Fortunately this season has been relatively quiet, but people should have plans ready in the event [Ian] reaches us...At this point, it's still kind of fuzzy. So it's important to continue to stay updated in the coming days."

Elsewhere in the state, a university in the Daytona Beach area has issued a mandatory evacuation order in response to the impending arrival of Tropical Storm Ian. Bethune-Cookman University, a historically Black private college with over 3,700 students, issued the order on Saturday, to go into effect on Monday.

"A return date will be determined once conditions are considered safe," the school's official statement read. "Students are encouraged to begin making plans to evacuate residence halls as soon as Sunday morning."

Newsweek reached out to Bethune-Cookman for further comment.