FLORIDA — Major trade shows have been canceled due to Hurricane Ian, which made landfall on the west coast of Florida near Fort Myers on Wednesday, September 28.Cancellations include the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapeutics (AABB) annual meeting, IBEX 2022 and DevOps World 2022.
IBEX 2023 will return to the Tampa Convention Center October 3-5, and DevOps World 2022 registrants will have their registrations moved to the 2023 event in September, but dates and locations have yet to be announced. The AABB Annual Meeting will be held in Nashville October 14-17, 2023.
JIS Fall has delayed the show’s opening until noon on September 30 and extended the show’s opening hours until 8 p.m. on Sunday, October 2.“The decision to postpone the opening to a later time on Friday was made to provide flexibility in the event of travel delays that our customers, suppliers and their suppliers bringing in product were facing,” said Sarin Bachmann, RX Global Group Vice President – RX Jewelry Portfolio. “At the same time, we made the decision to extend show hours on Sunday, typically our busiest day, to allow our exhibitors and retailers to make the most of their time at the show.”
“We have been monitoring the hurricane closely, working directly with our partners, the Miami Beach Convention Center and the entire jewelry industry to make a decision on whether to proceed with JIS, focusing on the safety and best interests of our exhibitors, attendees and employees,” Bachmann said. “Fortunately, Miami Beach was not directly in the path of the hurricane and we were all confident that there would be no local issues or safety concerns when the show opened on Friday.”
Visit Orlando said in a statement: “As the No. 1 travel destination in the United States, safety is Orlando’s top priority. We have an extraordinary infrastructure of public and private entities working together to resume operations in the region quickly and safely for residents and visitors. Outreach is ongoing with Visit Orlando members and industry partners to assess damages and reopenings.”
Florida convention centers affected
The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) suspended operations on Wednesday, September 28 and will resume normal operating hours on Saturday, October 1.
“The center also served as a staging area for emergency vehicles and aircraft from FEMA, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, American Medical Response, Tampa General Hospital, Orange County Fire Department, U.S. Air Force and others,” said Katarina Dos Santos, OCCC marketing and communications manager. “We had one event cancellation with the AABB annual meeting and one postponement.”
The AABB annual meeting was scheduled to be held at the OCCC from October 1-4, but was cancelled, and the AABB announced plans to expand its virtual event from November 6-7 to allow those who registered for the in-person event to attend the virtual event.
Hillsborough County, where the Tampa Convention Center is located, lifted its evacuation orders at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 29.
Visit Tampa said in a statement: “Visit Tampa Bay is closely monitoring the impact of Hurricane Ian on the destination. At this time, there is no major damage to report at the Tampa Convention Center or downtown. As the storm moved south, much of Hillsborough County was spared major hardship or infrastructure damage. Evacuation advisories have been lifted and power is currently being restored throughout the county. The Tampa Convention Center has scheduled an assessment tour this morning.”
Airports assess damage and reopenings
North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, where more than 15 planes were damaged by a tornado Tuesday night, and Key West International Airport reopened Thursday, Sept. 29. Orlando International Airport announced on Twitter that it is expected to resume operations Friday, Sept. 30, pending damage assessments. Tampa International Airport will resume operations Sept. 30 at 10 a.m.
Hurricane Ian, which strengthened to a Category 4, made landfall in Florida Wednesday afternoon, bringing winds of up to 150 mph (240 km/h), heavy rain and a historic storm surge that reached 12 feet (3.6 meters) in some locations. Two million Floridians were without power, and by 5 a.m. on September 29, power had been restored to more than 502,000 customers.
Later Wednesday, the storm weakened to a Category 1 storm, but it is still strong enough to continue causing widespread flooding, destruction and calls for emergency services. Earlier on September 29, the storm had been classified as a tropical storm, but as Ian moved toward the Atlantic Ocean, it strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane.
The National Hurricane Center confirmed that Hurricane Ian made landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, on the afternoon of September 30, with sustained winds of up to 85 mph (135 km/h). The center also said, “Significant flooding is expected today in parts of coastal and northeastern South Carolina, coastal North Carolina, and southeastern Virginia.”
Contact Katarina Dos Santos at katarina.dossantos@occc.net; Sarin Bachmann at sarin.bachmann@rxglobal.com
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.