Hurricane Ian is set to gain even more strength and hit Florida's west coast as a Category 4 storm by Wednesday.

At MacArthur Airport, some were fleeing the storm zone while other Long Islanders were traveling into the region to volunteer their time to make sure others are safe.

Christine Dunn, of Smithtown, is relieved to be home just hours before Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall near Florida's Gulf Coast. She was in Clearwater Beach on vacation.

"It was a ghost town there early this morning - we grabbed an earlier flight … and came home safely to sunshine," Dunn says. "Glad to be home."

American Red Cross Volunteer Joan Cerlenko, of East Moriches, is stationed in Tallahassee waiting to help thousands that will likely be affected by either a Category 3 or 4 hurricane.

"They have to learn everything and that is a scary thing," Cerlenko says. "And I know people who have ridden our hurricane and they say it's the worst thing they've ever done."

Others are heading back to Florida from Long Island to secure their belongings.

"I'm worried more about the storm surge - I actually have a boat that's in a marina on the Gulf - I'm heading down there to get that out of the water," says Vincent Basile.

Some others who are heading to more inland areas of Florida say they are anxious and nervous but hope the storm won't be too bad, and they will still be able to have a good time.

Tampa International Airport closed and stopped all operations at 5 p.m. in preparation for the hurricane.