Minnesotans prepare to help Floridians as Hurricane Idalia gains strength
TAMPA, Fla. – Hurricane Idalia is gaining strength as it churns towards Florida's Gulf Coast.
It's forecasted to become an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm, packing winds up to 120 mph.
Landfall is expected Wednesday morning near Tampa, an area still dealing with lingering damage from last year's Hurricane Ian.
A weary west coast of Florida desperately wants to avoid a repeat of last September. Lucas Slowik is a paramedic in the Orlando area.
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"Last year when Hurricane Ian hit, I was on shift for 120 hours straight," Slowik said.
He arrived in the Twin Cities Tuesday on a pre-planned trip for a softball tournament.
"To be honest, it was nice and smooth. Nobody was freaking out. Nobody was rushing. No one was rude. Everybody was really nice and polite," he said.
Tampa International Airport so far the only major airport to close as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday because of the forecasted hurricane. But some people don't have the luxury of leaving. They need to board up, again, and that includes many Minnesotans.
"Definitely we all have a little PTSD, but a lot of learning lessons from last year's storm," said Naples resident Brandon Marcus. "The flooding and the surge is really what we on this southwest coast are concerned about."
Marcus, a graduate of St. Louis Park High School, is the general manager of a condo building in Naples where many Minnesotans winter. He says the building is 80% recovered since Ian, with a price tag of more than $8 million.
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"We've moved, you know, all cars up to the second-level parking garage. All of our generators, all of our vacuums, everything that we need to clean and maintain the building, the tools, electricity, we're bringing up."
A community ready to count on experience, but they know they can also count on Minnesotans coming back to help if need be.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in dozens of counties. The state has also mobilized more than 1,000 National Guard members.