TAMPA, Fla. — Hurricane Ian is setting off major flooding as it moves across Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.
The National Hurricane Center reported at 2 a.m. Eastern Time that Ian has been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles an hour with the eye between Orlando and Cape Canaveral.
Storm surge warnings are in effect for a 500-mile stretch of the Gulf Coast from Suwanee to the southern tip of the peninsula, including Tampa Bay, Sarasota, Fort Myers, and Naples.
It made landfall in Florida Wednesday as a Category Four. Governor Ron DeSantis says the storm surge has likely peaked at around 12-feet, adding Ian is shaping up to be one of the biggest flood events in the state’s history.
More than two million Floridians are currently without power across the state. Entire neighborhoods across the state are underwater, with cars floating up and down the streets.
Ian has been downgraded to a tropical storm by the National Weather Service.
