Ian Hits Florida as Hurricane, Tropical-Storm Downgrade Not Forecast to Last

September 29th, 2022 by Travis Rains

Wind speeds near 150 mph were recorded when the eye of Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Ian is forecast to move into the central part of the state and beyond late Thursday, Sept. 29, and door and window operations are doing what they can to prepare for and weather the storm.

Though it’s still too early to understand fully the extent of the damage, recovery efforts are underway. PGT Innovations Inc. (PGTI), which has locations throughout Florida, has a hurricane relief team assessing the damage and checking in on team members, says PGTI marketing specialist McKenna Tanski.

“PGTI’s hurricane relief team is already out on the roads assessing for damage, checking in with their local team members and organizing relief efforts,” PGTI said in a statement. “They are planning to offer relief supplies and cleanup assistance starting tomorrow morning to first their team members, their dealer partners and then the community.”

PGTI’s Family Fund program will also offer loans to team members to help pay for large repairs. Additionally, PGTI is offering volunteer time off hours for PGTI team members who volunteer to provide assistance to others.

PGTI adds that all of its production facilities withstood the storm without any notable damage and will begin production sometime during the weekend.

Florida’s Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told Good Morning America that while no confirmed numbers are available, “I definitely know that fatalities are in the hundreds.”

“There are thousands of people that are waiting to be rescued, and again, we cannot give a true assessment until we’re actually on scene assessing each scene and we can’t access people, that’s the problem,” he says. “We’re accessing the bridges, we’re seeing what’s compromised and what’s not. And this will be a life-changing event for the men and women who are responding.”

Storm Smart, manufacturer and installer of hurricane protection products in Fort Myers, Fla., is keeping tabs on its customers and the storm itself.

“As many of you may be waking up this morning, and are seeing the updates know this storm is serious. Please stay where you are and hunker down,” Storm Smart posted to its Facebook page on Wednesday. “Go to an inside room with no windows if possible. Know you may lose power. If you are in an evacuation zone, and a storm surge starts to come in, you will want to get as high as possible. We hope you all stay safe and we will get through this as a community.”

“Our hearts and prayers are with all of those affected by #HurricaneIan, especially our dedicated associates, suppliers and customers,” wrote JELD-WEN on its Facebook page, noting that the company is donating to the American Red Cross.

JELD-WEN will also match contributions of its employees and partners up to $10,000.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Ian is forecast to approach the coast of South Carolina on Friday, after which it will move inland across the Carolinas. Ian, currently downgraded to a tropical storm, is expected to become a hurricane once again by Thursday evening.

Primary dangers, along with high winds and rainfall, are storm surges.

“The combination of storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline,” according to the National Hurricane Center. “The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the right of the center, where the surge will be accompanied by large waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances.”

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