Unwilling or unable to evacuate, some Florida residents ride out Hurricane Ian
India Today
Ian hit Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force on Wednesday, gripping the state with howling winds, torrential rain and a treacherous surge of ocean surf.
Outside the window of Susan Flack's darkened condominium in Naples, Florida, on Wednesday, trees bent in the wind and a portable toilet floated by on rising floodwaters.
Flack, one of thousands who decided to flout official evacuation orders and ride out Hurricane Ian, was not worried about her safety. Hunkered down on the second floor of her building, where the power had been out all day and the lobby was filled with several feet of water, she took videos of the scene outside.
Another one from my Mom on Gulf Shore Boulevard one block from Lowdermilk Park on Naples Beach. The green is a porta potty floating in parking lot of her condo. Unclear what’s floating in storm surge near the end of video. Her neighbors car already floated away #Ian #HurricaneIan https://t.co/hVQ5nw9tar pic.twitter.com/4TMQgjpl9a
"Being hysterical is not going to help," the retired attorney said in a phone interview.
Ian plowed into Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force on Wednesday, pummeling the state with howling winds, torrential rain and a treacherous surge of ocean surf that made it one of the most powerful storms on record to hit the United States.
Some 2.5 million coastal residents and others in danger zones around Tampa, Ft. Myers and nearby communities were ordered or encouraged to evacuate ahead of the massive storm. But many did not, with some simply vowing to ride it out and others unable to leave for financial or other reasons.
