The once mighty Hurricane Ian is no more than a Tropical Storm now, but still he continues to try his best and ruin many a Florida vacation.
Now that the daylight hours have arrived, we can breathe a sigh of relief that the main tourism corridor of Central Florida has escaped the absolute worst of this once monster storm that has caused so much destructive damage throughout other areas of this great state.
We are heartbroken for everyone who has lost their lives, their homes, and more due to the devastating damage caused by Ian. Our thoughts and prayers with everyone who is suffering at this time.
Personally we have been lucky, remarkably we still have power, our home is not damaged, and we are so very thankful and grateful to be here writing this update for you.
Here in Central Florida the main news appears to be the unprecedented rain. Flooding is causing major problems throughout the area.
Local law enforcement is urging people to stay indoors, the only people who should be on the roads are law enforcement and emergency workers clearing debris.
A 13 mile stretch of the turnpike is flooded in Orange County due to flooding.
The I-4 Express Lanes at Kirkman Road are also closed due to flooding.
In Orlando flooding is causing serious problems, currently people are being rescued in the Kirkman area. Lake Eola is completely flooded over onto Robinson.
In Kissimmee, people are being rescued from flooded houses, roads are closed due to waist deep waters that have trapped people in their cars. even local golf courses are under water.
Seminole County is seeing unprecedented flooding for Altamonte Springs, Little Wekiva Riverwith river levels at 30.6 ft.
At Walt Disney World minor flooding has been reported at resorts, although no information is available from the theme parks yet. A Flash Flood Warnings are currently in place for Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista UNTIL 9.30 AM.
Thank you to Twitter user @JaiHawkFly for the video.
On International Drive it appears the main tourist strip area is suffering from major flooding.
Serious flooding is reported in the Universal Orlando area, although currently no information on damage is available from the theme park itself. the area around the Double Tree By Hilton near the entrance to Universal is suffering major flooding.
Thank you to News 13 and Jeff Allen for the update.
At Universal Orlando Resort, damage is reported at the Jurassic River Adventure building in Unviersal's Islands Of Adventure.
It is much too early to speculate when the theme parks will re-open, keeping everyone safe today is the priority right now.
More torrential rain is forecast for today, and with flash flood warnings in the area, its currently unknown when it will be safe for theme park management to asses the theme parks for any damage, and for clean up crews to clear any debris and ready the parks for re-opening.
As the day goes on we will get a better picture on any issues with the theme parks, and whether they will re-open tomorrow as scheduled.
We will keep you updated right here on our website throughout the day with all the latest news and updates.
