New Englanders opt to ride out Hurricane Ian in Florida
By Mike Sullivan, WBZ-TV
BOSTON – As Hurricane Ian swirled toward the Florida coast, some residents chose to stay home and prepare to face the worst.
"It's going to be bad for the people where that eye hits," said Antonio Soto, who left his home in Bonita Springs to take shelter in a friend's home in Fort Myers. "This is the first one I have been through, but I worked in one in Panama City. My wife, last time, the eye of Irma went right over our house in Bonita."
Soto was hoping for a safer place in Fort Myers, but the storm appears to be headed right at the city.
"We are worried about the water surge. There is a river that almost crested Bonita Beach Road, and got to our house last time," Soto said.
Floridians told WBZ-TV the grocery stores are starting to run out of the essentials, and the streets look like ghost towns. The storm is clocking winds of 150 miles per hour.
"I think I am honestly the last person from school. I think every single person left school," said Terrence Concannon, a Hingham native going to school at the University of Tampa, "I didn't prep that well. I got a few watermelons, some chocolate milk, some water, and some bread. My Mom, she is wicked nervous. She was calling me 100 times and texting me."
The state is a popular destination for New Englanders to move to. Mark Walters survived the blizzard of 1978. His family knows how to prepare, and they already cooked meals ahead of time.
"We feel safe for now asking me, but ask me that in another hour it might change," Walters joked.
Walters has storm shutters on his Port Charlotte home. He is hoping to keep the place powered with a generator and plenty of gas.