Hurricane Ian Damage | David Dellinger (Port Meteorological Officer for the National Weather Service of Miami, Florida), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Hurricane Ian Damage | David Dellinger (Port Meteorological Officer for the National Weather Service of Miami, Florida), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Colorado sends a 13-member team to Florida to help with Hurricane Ian response.
The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management dispatched a team of 13 public safety personnel to Florida to assist with Hurricane Ian response efforts. They will be in Ocala for 14 days, receiving and distributing supplies.
“The sky darkened, blackened. Things began to change quickly, and last night there was torrential rain, and it was coming down in sheets like I’ve never seen before,” American Red Cross Colorado volunteer Kim Mailes, of Highlands Ranch, told Fox News following Hurricane Ian's Category 4 landfall in Florida.
Hurricane Ian started as a category 4 hurricane but has since turned into a tropical storm. With winds reaching up to 150 mph, it has caused major damage, flooding, and left more than 2 million customers without power, NBC News reported.
The Colorado and Wyoming region of the American Red Cross has also deployed seven volunteers to Florida, according to 9News. They're mainly preparing in the Orlando area until the storm passes. There are eight more volunteers on standby just waiting for dispatch orders. Hundreds of shelters are provided by the organization and its partners throughout Florida.
More than 2 million people had lost electricity in Florida and several communities on the state's west coast had issued curfews.
The National Hurricane Center issued a warning of "life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, and flooding in the Florida Peninsula," with millions of people ordered to evacuate.
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