Authorities in Florida have ordered 2.5 million residents to evacuate, amid fears a hurricane moving north from Cuba could strengthen into a Category 4 storm.
Hurricane Ian tore through western Cuba Tuesday, knocking out power for the country’s entire population of eleven million.
Some 50,000 people were forced to evacuate in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, as the storm hit, with winds of 125 miles per hour.
Hurricane Ian is expected to grow even stronger as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico on its way to Florida, threatening the west coast with winds expected to reach 140 miles per hour.
Governor Ron DeSantis has ordered National Guard members to deploy to Florida’s west coast to assist in preparations for the storm’s arrival.
“This thing’s the real deal,” DeSantis said, urging residents on the west coast to prepare for extended power outages. “It is a major, major storm.”
The hurricane, currently rated as a Category 3 storm, is expected to make landfall in western Florida Wednesday evening, by which time experts predict it will strengthen into a Category 4 storm.
If Hurricane Ian moves through the Tampa Bay area, it will be the worst storm to hit the area since 1921.
Home to some 3 million people in Tampa and surrounding cities including St. Petersburg and Clearwater, experts say a landfall in the Tampa Bay area could be disastrous.
A landfall farther to the south, however, could significantly soften the blow and reduce damage to the heavily population Tampa area, Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy said.