Hurricane Ian knocked out power across Cuba, leaving 11 million people without power, after hitting the western tip of the island.
Cuba‘s Electric Union said electricity was initially cut off for about a million people in the country’s western provinces, but later the entire grid collapsed.
The hurricane made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the western end of the island and devastated Pinar del Rio province, destroying some of the country’s most important tobacco plantations.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated or had fled before Ian caused flooding and damaged homes.
The US National Hurricane Center said Cuba experienced “significant wind and storm surge impacts” when the hurricane hit with sustained winds of 125 mph.
The hurricane was expected to grow even stronger over the warm Gulf of Mexico as it approaches the southwest coast of Floridawhere 2.5 million people have been ordered to leave.
Residents and vacationers have been warned not to be complacent amid fears the hurricane could be upgraded to Category 4, with 140mph winds expected to affect the entire state.
During an emergency briefing at the White House on Tuesday, Deanne Criswell, spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), said: “The storm surge is going to be significant, and you put 20 inches of rain on top of that….
“Take this very seriously, don’t underestimate the potential this storm can bring.
“We’re talking about impacts in parts of Florida that haven’t seen a major direct impact in almost 100 years.”
Read more:
Hurricane Ian: “It’s not a joke”
Florida emergency declared with Ian set to step up
Ian heads to the Florida Keys, a popular vacation destination, made up of numerous islands, some of which are less than a mile wide.
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday canceled a planned trip and called the mayors of three Florida cities to assure them that federal support is ready to deploy food, fuel and shelter.
A total of 29 emergency shelters have already been set up by Fema personnel dispatched to the state on Monday.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency and urged residents to prepare.
He warned of “wide impacts across the state” and said the weather system posed a risk of “dangerous storm surge, heavy rain, flash flooding, high winds, dangerous seas and isolated tornadic activity”.
Flooding is forecast for much of the Florida peninsula mid-week, then heavy rain is possible for the southeastern United States later this week.