Emergency Vehicles Are No Longer Responding to Calls in Sarasota County
I have flown storms for the last six years. This flight to Hurricane #Ian on Kermit (#NOAA42) was the worst I’ve ever been on. I’ve never seen so much lightning in an eye.
— Tropical Nick Underwood (@TheAstroNick) September 28, 2022
This was the eye. You can see the curvature. Understand this is at NIGHT. The light is from LIGHTNING. pic.twitter.com/cfZ9ls6YD3
As winds from Hurricane Ian reached 45 mph in Sarasota County, government officials are pulling emergency vehicles from the roads to keep them safe. Additionally, all of Sarasota Memorial Hospital's campuses, including SMH Sarasota, SMH Venice and North Port ECC, have been locked down for safety.
"If you dial 911, [operators] will give you guidance on what to do over the phone, but they can't send a vehicle," Sarasota County emergency management chief Ed McCrane said in a video update.
He added that if the storm gets worse, residents should "get to a safe room with less windows and doors to ride out the storm.
"Now is the time to shelter in place," McCrane concluded.
The extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane is packing sustained winds of 155 mph—just 2 mph below a Category 5 storm—and moving ashore over Sanibel and Captiva islands. An extreme wind warning is currently in effect for south central Sarasota County and southwestern Charlotte County.
