Flights from Orlando arrive in New Hampshire ahead of Hurricane Ian
By Grace Finerman
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MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (WMUR) — As Hurricane Ian approached Florida on Tuesday, some people were headed north to New Hampshire.
Passengers arrived Tuesday at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport from Orlando, an area that’s expected to get hit hard. Orlando Sanford International Airport closed Tuesday in anticipation of the storm, and Orlando International Airport planned to shut down Wednesday morning.
Some arriving passengers said they had planned the trip to New England in advance, while others said they rearranged their schedules to get out before the hurricane.
Traveler Belinda Schwartz said that as she was looking for flights to leave, they were disappearing. She said she’s now worried about the home she left behind.
“Oh, it’s definitely stressful leaving everything as it’s happening,” she said. “I live right on the water, so we had to sort of figure out what to pack up, but this time, I’m not sure there’s going to be anything left of that house when we get back.”
While many people were evacuating parts of Florida, some Granite Staters were headed south, volunteering with the Red Cross and helping with storm preparation.
American Medical Response regional director Chris Stawasz said 300 ambulances are on the ground in Orlando from states across the country. He’s one of the first responders on the ground helping out.
“We repay in New Hampshire when we have problems there, when people come take care of us, so it’s nice to have that network and be able to serve assistance people when they need it,” Stawasz said.
He said the Orlando area could be getting 24 to 28 inches of rain.
“We’re getting reports from our crews that are out on the roads that there’s an awful lot of northbound traffic,” Stawasz said. “People are heeding the warnings of officials here and moving out of harm’s way.”
Stawasz said the impact of this storm could be long-lasting. He said if there’s a lot of power loss or heavy winds, there will be a lot of cleanup.
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