HOUSTON — Representatives from the American Red Cross Texas Gulf Coast Region will be sending one of their own to Florida ahead of Hurricane Ian's possible landfall.
The Red Cross said it's placing resources across the state ahead of impact as Ian strengthened into a hurricane early Monday morning.
The relief group is also coordinating with officials and emergency management to assist those affected.
Forecasters are concerned Ian could become a major hurricane before landfall and that its impacts could be felt across Florida. NASA even canceled their Artemis I moon launch scheduled for Tuesday due to Ian's approach.
Right now emergency managers are bracing for serious issues.
"Potentially, assisted living facilities, nursing homes...maybe even hospitals might be in harm's way," Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said.
President Biden also declared Ian an emergency, authorizing federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief immediately.
Residents in Florida were keeping a cautious eye on Ian as it rumbled ominously through the Caribbean on a path toward the state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency throughout Florida and urged residents to prepare for the storm to lash large swaths of the state with heavy rains, high winds and rising seas.
Forecasters are still unsure of exactly where Ian could make landfall, with current models plotting it toward Florida's west coast or panhandle regions, he said.
“We're going to keep monitoring the track of this storm. But it really is important to stress the degree of uncertainty that still exists,” DeSantis said at a news conference Sunday, cautioning that “even if you're not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there's going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.