Family Evacuating Hurricane Ian With Chickens Forced to Sleep in Their Car

As Hurricane Ian continues to approach Florida, a family said that they were sleeping in their car as they evacuated with chickens.

"For some folks evacuating the west coast to the east coast of Florida, hotels are hard to come by. Some are sleeping in their cars in #okeechobee including this family with kids, dogs, cats, and chickens," Twitter user Meghan McRoberts of WPTV news in Palm Beach said in a tweet.

In the video, a woman can be seen opening the window of the camper shell on her pickup truck, layered with hay for several chickens and ducks in the back.

The video showing the evacuation comes as Hurricane Ian nears Florida and is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm.

The National Hurricane Center warned of catastrophic wind and flooding in parts of Florida, saying that "Heavy rainfall will spread across the Florida peninsula through Thursday and reach portions of the Southeast U.S. later this week and weekend."

"Catastrophic wind damage is expected along the southwestern coast of Florida beginning in the next few hours where the core of Ian makes landfall. Preparations to protect life and property should be urgently rushed to completion," the National Hurricane Center added in an update on Wednesday morning.

Miami and Tampa Bay's National Weather Service also warned of possible tornadoes associated with Hurricane Ian. Newsweek confirmed with the Miami National Weather Service that at least eight tornadoes touched down in parts of Florida on Tuesday.

On Monday, Florida's Hillsborough County announced a mandatory evacuation order for numerous residents located along the coastal area of Tampa Bay. A day later, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that several other counties were being ordered to evacuate immediately, including Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Putnam and Sarasota.

DeSantis also authorized the state's National Guard and in a statement, his office said that "Following Governor DeSantis' authorization, a total of 5,000 Florida Guardsmen are being activated to State Active Duty and pre-positioned at armories across the state for Tropical Storm Ian response operations. 2,000 Guardsmen from Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina are also being activated to assist."

The Florida Division of Emergency Management also issued a shelter-in-place order for residents.

"While first responders may not be able to immediately enter impacted areas due to safety hazards, the Division is working diligently to ensure that responders have the information they need to address the needs of impacted households as quickly as possible," the agency said in a statement.

Newsweek reached out to the Florida Division of Emergency Management for further comment.