| Friday, September 30, 2022 |
| Hey, everybody. Forecasters expect a sunny day and clear skies tonight (high of 80, low of 62). In case you were wondering, the Sunken Gardens flamingos are fine. We also take a look at the Tampa Bay area airports reopening today, and the Rays missing out on their first chance to clinch a playoff spot after losing last night in Cleveland. |
| Businesses and beachfront owners from Clearwater Beach to Pass-a-Grille were among the first to be evacuated in Pinellas County’s Zone A. But after Hurricane Ian shifted south, the area’s beachfront towns avoided the worst of it. The storm left Tampa Bay soggy, disheveled and breathing a sigh of relief. Locals found fallen trees blocking streets, branches dropped on cars — but, thankfully, not the widespread destruction they’d feared from one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the U.S. Officials reported at least 17 hurricane deaths Thursday. That number is expected to increase. Most of the 2.5 million residents in evacuation zones along the path of Ian heeded warnings and left, local emergency leaders say. But some chose to stay and shelter in place. Among them: 31 people on an unidentified barrier island in Charlotte County. Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared Sanibel had been “hit with really biblical storm surge.” The Pine Island community is grappling with the aftermath of the storm. And one Lee County beachfront resident compared Ian to a horror movie. Ian was more brutal than some residents of Fort Myers Beach ever imagined. Daybreak on Thursday revealed devastation — another slice of salt-streaked Florida forever altered by a storm. As that own lies decimated, with many areas unreachable due to flooding and power outages, families wait anxiously for news. We continue monitoring Ian as it makes its way toward South Carolina. Follow live updates here. |
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