Floridians head for shelters as Hurricane Ian barrels toward Tampa

Workers board up the windows of a 7-Eleven convenience store in the Ybor City district in preparation for Hurricane Ian approaches the western side of the state, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) (Phelan M. Ebenhack, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

TAMPA, Fla. – More than 2 million people in Florida were under orders to pack up and head east to safer ground Tuesday as Hurricane Ian barreled north from Cuba on a path toward Tampa.

Before city officials ordered mandatory evacuations of the Tampa neighborhoods closest to the water, Steve McClure, 54, had stocked up on food, batteries and flashlights and made plans to bunk with his parents in a nearby county.

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“I’d rather be safe than sorry, especially with the track of the hurricane consistently changing,” said McClure, a three-year Tampa resident who was living in nearby Clearwater when Hurricane Elena battered Florida’s Gulf Coast in 1985. “First it was coming right at us a day ago. Now it’s turning a bit to the east.”

Read the full report from NBC News.