The Federal Emergency Management Agency held a press conference on Wednesday to provide an update the agency's Hurricane Ian preparedness efforts as the storm neared Category 5 strength.
The news conference, which took place at 9 a.m., featured FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, Director of Weather Service Ken Graham, American Red Cross Vice President of Disaster Operations and Logistics Brad Kieserman, and FEMA National Spokesperson in Spanish Daniel Llargués.
FEMA's plan, called the "Just in Time Preparedness for Hurricane Ian," urges people in the storm's path to evacuate, stay informed, gather supplies, know the risks, and look out for others.
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Florida's west coast is bracing for impact from what's being called a "life-threatening storm" as Hurricane Ian strengthened to a dangerous Category 4 hurricane before making landfall on Wednesday.
With maximum sustained winds at 155 mph, 2 mph short of a Category 5 hurricane, Ian is expected to cause devastating storm surge, catastrophic winds and flooding along the state's heavily populated Gulf Coast from Bonita Beach to the Tampa Bay region, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in a 6:35 a.m. advisory Wednesday.
