Havana (AP) - Hurricane Ian was moving toward Cuba to make a major hurricane off the west coast of Florida early Wednesday.
Ian was forecast to hit the western tip of Cuba as a severe hurricane before hitting Florida and then becoming a powerful Category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) before hitting Florida. Gone.
As of Monday, Tampa and St. Petersburg appear to be among the first major hurricane targets since 1921.
"Please take this storm seriously. This is the real deal. This is not a drill," Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director Timothy Dudley said at a news conference in Tampa.
Cuban authorities have evacuated 50,000 people in Pinar del RÃo state, sending medical and emergency workers and taking steps to protect food and other crops in warehouses, state media reported.
"Cuba is expecting a powerful hurricane as well as deadly storms and heavy rain," said Daniel Brown, senior specialist at the US National Hurricane Center.
The hurricane center predicted storm surge to 14 feet (4.3 meters) along Cuba's west coast by Monday night or early Tuesday.
In Havana, fishermen were pulling their boats out of the water along the famous Malecón, a boardwalk, and city workers were opening storm drains ahead of expected rain.
Havana resident Adiz Ladron, 35, said he was concerned about the potential for more water from the storm.
"I'm scared because my house is completely flooded, there's even water," he said, pointing to his chest.
In Havana's El Funguito, a poor neighborhood near the Almendares River, residents were packing whatever they could to leave their homes, many of which had been damaged by previous storms.
Abel Rodrigues, 54, a health professional, said: "I hope we will survive this because this will be our end. "We have very little now."
By Monday afternoon, Iain was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph), about 155 mph (250 kph) southeast of the western tip of Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (250 kph). 155 km/h).
Residents of the El Funguito neighborhood carry mattresses in preparation for Hurricane Ian in Havana, Cuba, on Monday. (Photo: Associated Press)
The center of the storm moved to the west of the Cayman Islands, but no major damage occurred that Monday, and residents returned to the streets when the wind subsided.
"It looks like we've lost the shot," said Gary Hollins, a resident of Grand Cayman. "I am a happy camper."
Ian will not stay over Cuba, but will slow down, expand and strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico, "which will have the potential to produce high winds and hurricane effects along the west coast of Florida," the hurricane center said.
Up to 10 feet (3 meters) and 10 inches (25 cm) of rain are forecast in the Tampa Bay area, with up to 15 inches (38 cm) in isolated areas. This is enough water to submerge coastal communities.
County Administrator Bonnie Wise said 300,000 people could be displaced from the low-lying areas of Hillsborough County alone. Some of these evacuees were reopened by Monday afternoon as shelters in the most vulnerable areas, schools and other places.
"We must do everything possible to protect our residents. Time is of the essence," Wise said.
Floridians lined up for hours in Tampa to pick up sandbags and bottled water. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a statewide emergency and warned that as Ian moves north of the state's Gulf Coast, it could knock out power to large areas of the state and disrupt fuel supplies.
"You have a significant storm that could be a Category 4 hurricane," DeSantis said at a news conference. "It's going to cause a huge amount of storms. You're going to have flood events. There's going to be a lot of different impacts on you."
