Florida Stations Prepare For Hurricane Ian
Florida Christian Radio stations are preparing for Hurricane Ian. It is currently forecast to make landfall on either the western coast of Florida or the Florida Panhandle by midday Thursday, but uncertainty remains about the hurricanes track and intensity.
According to the National Hurricane Center. Gov. Ron DeSasntis said there could be heavy flooding on Florida’s east coast. And there’s no guarantee that the storm’s path will continue to move west as it has for the past two days, he said. Mandatory evacuations are now in effect as the Tampa Bay area braces for Hurricane Ian.
WayFM SW & North Florida GM Tom Sullivan says they’re waiting for Hurricane Ian to make it past Cuba out into the Gulf of Mexico, when they believe weather authorities will be able to make the most accurate predictions possible. “As far as preparation goes off the air, our teams in Fort Myers and North Florida (Tallahassee & Panama City) and our regional engineer, have taken measures to protect each WayFM studio and tower site, as well as preparing our generators in case we lose power at any location. We’re also making sure all our team members and their families are staying safe.”
Also WayFM is providing ongoing forecasts on the air and posting Tropics Updates at wayfm.com.
VP of Programming and Content for Radio Training Network (RTN) Carmen Brown at WCIE/Tampa (The JOY FM) tells HisAir, “We’re working on a plan to stay on air, regardless of how bad it gets. Our IT team is currently building additional remote set ups so we can broadcast from home (all together) if for some reason we can’t make it to the station. Some team members may even spend the night here, though, our building is not built to hurricane standards. Thanks for praying… we’re worried about storm surge as much as anything.”
WBVM/Tampa (Spirit 90.5) PD/MD Davis Watts told HisAir today, “As Hurricane Ian approaches, Spirit FM will be the calm before the storm as long as it’s safe for the staff to be here. During the storm Spirit FM will bring our listeners music and messages of hope as an alternative to the wall-to-wall storm coverage most media in our area will broadcast. Spirit FM will be a place of peace during the storm where listeners can find the hope of Jesus. As soon as the all clear is sounded our air staff will be in studio to lift our listeners up as they recover from the storm. Please continue to pray for all who are in the path of Hurricane Ian.”
WKES/Lakeland (Moody Radio) station manager Andrew Leuthold says they are watching the storm closely, “We are monitoring the news and emergency response outlets to stay on top of Hurricane Ian’s potential movements. We want our listeners to stay informed so we are sharing safety tips and storm information while keeping our focus on the One Who is in charge of it all! We want our listeners to stay safe and out of harm’s way and use wisdom and good judgment. We also want to encourage them to not worry and keep their hope in Christ, the only one who can calm a storm.”
Convoy of Hope’s Jared Mitchell says, “Our staff and volunteers are bagging groceries at our World Distribution Center in Springfield, MO. Semi-trucks are docked, awaiting water and life-saving supplies to be loaded. Convoy of Hope’s Disaster Services team is proactively taking measures that will allow us to respond immediately to the storm.”
Follow The response here: HURRICANE IAN
