Disney world EVACUATES hotels and prepares to shut parks as Hurricane Ian barrels towards Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has warned that Hurricane Ian will cause ‘catastrophic’ flooding across the Sunshine State and urges people to prepare for the ‘historic’ storm. 

DeSantis told Floridians not to ‘put themselves in harms way’ as he said the state is expecting unprescendented storm surges and flooding to cause major damage from the 15ft waves and 140mph winds.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, DeSantis said that ‘safety is paramount’ for anyone in the state, and warned those on the north coast and gulf coast that they could be hit hardest by the ‘different’ storm. 

He added: ‘Mother nature is a very fearsom adversary, please heed those evacuation warnings. You could see power ourages, inland flooding, various types of tree damage from wind so be prepared for that.’ 

DeSantis declared a state of emergency in all 67 counties as he called up 7,000 National Guard members to help with the effort, with 2.5million people under an evacuation order. 

Schools in 26 districts across Florida have announced that they will be closed, with some shutting their doors on Tuesday, and all remaining closed through to Friday.

Universities and Florida Colleges are also closing their doors in an attempt to protect the students from the storm.

Thousands of guests at Disney World are also being evacuated from hotels and campgrounds in Orlando as Hurricane Ian is baring down on Florida, with areas at the park already suffering from flooding. 

 

Epcot, Animal Kingtom and Magic Kingdom are currently still open and operating under normal conditions, with the company ‘monitoring’ the situation.

The Disney Springs shopping and entertainment complex also will remain open, while Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue will be closed from Wednesday to Friday. 

Copper Creek Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and the Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort will also be closed for three days. 

Typhoon Lagoon and Winter Summerland Miniature Golf and Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Cancellation policies are also not being enforced by the entertainment giant, with performances around the Fort Wilderness resort being cancelled.

The resort has been battered by heavy rain the past few days, with thousands of visitors braving the weather to enjoy the parks.

It comes as all of the Florida Key’s are under a tornado watch, meaning that it is possible for one to hit. 

The monster storm has been upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane, as it is currently lashing Cuba, with the National Guard on standby in Florida.

A spokesman for the company said: ‘Walt Disney World Resort is currently operating under normal conditions as we prepare to make necessary adjustments based on the latest information from the National Weather Service.

‘We continue to put the safety of our Cast Members and Guests first and will share updates with you as we monitor Hurricane Ian.’

The National Hurricane Center confirmed the storm made landfall in western Cuba at 4.30am local time, lashing the island with rain and sustained winds of 125mph. 

Cuba’s capital, Havana, was hit hard by the storm with workers unclogging storm drains and fishermen taking their boats out of the water to try to protect themselves from the flooding. 

Ian made landfall in the Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 people, with officials in the Sunshine State warning residents to ‘get out now’. 

Tampa International Airport is set to cease commercial flights a 5pm Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Ian’s arrival.

It is location within an evacuation zone but is considered critical infrastructure and can stay open as long as needed, with visitors banned and workers will secure aircraft, jet bridges and ground equipment.

The airport will reopen once it can safely assess damage, survey road conditions and bring in staff.

St Petersburg airport is also set to close after threats of being hit by the Category 3 storm, as it is in the projected path.

All planes and flights will be closed for a number of hours, but it is not clear when the terminal will reopen after closing at 1pm.

Tampa and St Petersburg could get their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921, with authorities urging localls to ‘treat the storm seriously’ adding ‘it’s the real deal’. 

Tampa General Hospital has created an aqua wall around the entire hospital in preparation for Hurricane Ian to protect patients and equiptment.

Miami is also being battered by flooding and rainfall, with drains overflowing with water and cars struggling to make it through flooded parts of the city. 

After barrelling its way through Cuba, the hurricane is forecast to strengthen even further over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters before reaching Florida as early as Wednesday as a Category 4 storm with top winds of 140mph.

The hurricane is expected to past west of the Florida Keys late Tuesday before approaching the west coast of Florida on Wednesday, prompting locals to scramble to stock up on food, water and medicine. 

Local officials in Florida ordered more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes in Hillsborough – including Tampa – Manatee, and Hernando counties, with more expected to follow.

A surge of up to 10ft of ocean water and 10 inches of rain is predicted to drench the Tampa Bay area, with as much as 15 inches in isolated areas – enough water to inundate coastal communities. 

Terrified residents have been desperately digging huge trenches to redirect flood water from their homes while others have stripped supermarket shelves bare of water and essentials.

Floridians lined up for hours in Tampa to collect bags of sand and stock up on essentials from supermarkets as they prepared to bunker down ahead of the monster weather front.

Tampa International Airport said that it would suspend its operations on Tuesday at 5pm local time (2100 GMT) before the hurricane is set to hit the area. 

In Cuba, 50,000 people in Cuba’s western Pinar del Rio province were evacuated to safer locations, 6,000 of them to 55 state-run shelters and the rest to the homes of relatives and friends. 

The island’s west coast is set to see as much as 14ft of storm surge, as officials rushed to protect crops in China’s main tobacco-growing region.

NASA have also been forced to delay the launch of its Artemis rocket again because of the hurricane barrelling towards the coast – meaning they will not be able to attempt anther launch for at least three weeks.

The 322-foot-tall rocket has been rolled back four miles to the Vehicle Assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center.

On Monday, DeSantis warned of heavy traffic amid reports that some highways were bumper-to-bumper for around 50 miles. 

The governor said: ‘When you have millions of people in a metro area, no matter how it’s done, you’re going to have traffic. That’s just the reality.’ 

In a statement on rationing, a Publix spokesperson said: ‘As we continue to monitor Ian, Publix locations may limit quantities of items, such as water, to best serve the majority of our customers.’

The statement went on: ‘We have seen increased purchases on items such as bread, water, batteries and canned goods, just to name a few.’

US President Joe Biden also declared an emergency, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to co-ordinate disaster relief and provide assistance to protect lives and property.

The President postponed a scheduled September 27 trip to Florida because of the storm, with White House officials confirming they are ‘closely monitoring’ the situation. 

An official said that the president approved the emergency assistance request ‘as soon as he received it’.

They added: ‘He also directed his team to surge Federal assistance to the region well before landfall. FEMA has already deployed staff there and pre-positioned food, water, and generators.’