Sarasota County, Florida, officials announced emergency crews will no longer respond to calls due to Hurricane Ian.

In Charlotte County, just north of Fort Myers, emergency response calls for fire and EMS service will also be suspended.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office added, “911 will still be operational and calls will be triaged for response as soon as weather condition permit.”

An extreme wind warning has been issued near Fort Myers as Hurricane Ian nears.

Naples has reported a wind gust of 112 mph.

Fort Myers resident Debbie Levenson and her husband chose not to evacuate for Hurricane Ian and are staying put at home.

“Hurricanes are a concern, but I don't freak out about it. You do what you have to do. You get your supplies, make sure you have flashlights, do your laundry ahead of time in case you lose power,” she told ABC News. “We bought bottled water and wine. We put gas in the car. The store shelves were not empty.”

"We are concerned with local flooding, but we drained the pool and are keeping an eye on the roads,” she continued. “Most of the neighborhood has stayed. Neighbors only left if they had small children or had a medical reason.”

Ken Graham, director of NOAA's National Weather Service, warned people sheltering in place to not venture out once the storm passes over.

“Don’t go out there. It’s so dangerous to be out there. So even if you see the water receding, it’s not the time to go out,” he said.

-ABC News' Morgan Korn and Max Golembo

Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 with 155 mph winds, is nearing record-breaking wind levels.

Only four hurricanes have ever made landfall in the continental U.S. with winds over 155 mph: Labor Day in 1935 with 185 mph winds; Camille in 1969 with 175 mph winds; Andrew in 1992 with 165 mph; and Michael in 2018 with 160 mph.

Naples, Florida, reached a new record-high storm surge of 4.8 feet Wednesday morning -- and the water continues to rise.

This beats the record of 4.25 feet reached during Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Ken Graham, director of NOAA's National Weather Service, warned Wednesday, “This is going to be a storm we talk about for many years to come -- historic event."

Tropical Storm Ian is marching toward the Gulf Coast of the U.S., a region quite vulnerable to hurricanes.

The underwater geology of the Gulf of Mexico is what makes the Gulf Coast particularly unguarded to the massive influx of seawater, said Michael Brennan, acting deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, according to an article on Inside Science.

The symmetry of the Gulf of Mexico, with its shallow, sloping continental shelf, allows the storm surge to be pushed even higher onto land, Brennan told the outlet.

Because the land around the Gulf Coasts is typically flat, that exacerbates the flooding even more and allows the storm surge to travel farther inland, Brennan said.

"Of all of the hazards of hurricanes --- winds, rain, storm surges –-- surges are what can cause the largest loss of life," Brennan told Inside Science.

The Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area, one of the regions bracing for Ian, is especially vulnerable to storm surge flooding but has avoided a direct hit from a strong hurricane since 1921.

Editor's Note: This post has been updated to reflect proper attribution to Inside Science.

-ABC News' Max Golembo