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CUB | Sep 27, 2022

Hurricane Ian rips into western Cuba, with Florida in its sights

/ Our Today

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Satellite-generated time-lapse of weather conditions in the northwest Caribbean focusing on category three Hurricane Ian as at 5:40 am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Tuesday, September 27, 2022. (Content courtesy of NOAA/NHC)

HAVANA (Reuters)

Hurricane Ian slammed into western Cuba on Tuesday, forcing evacuations, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of people and swamping fishing villages as it tracked northward toward Florida, where residents anxiously await the sprawling storm.

The Category 3 hurricane is about 15 kilometres north-northeast of the city of Pinar del Río, with maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometres/hour, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Ian is expected to strengthen further on Tuesday after cutting a swath through Cuba’s farm country west of the capital Havana and emerging over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, reaching Category 4 strength before it approaches the Florida west coast, the NHC said.

The Biden administration declared a public health emergency for the state of Florida on Monday, in anticipation of the storm’s arrival, and said it was working with local officials to provide support.

Local residents fill sandbags, as Hurricane Ian spun toward Florida carrying high winds, torrential rains and a powerful storm surge, at the Himes Avenue Complex in Tampa, Florida, U.S., September 26, 2022. (Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province early on Tuesday, prompting officials to cut power to the entire province and evacuate 40,000 people from low-lying coastal areas, according to local media reports.

As of 6:30 am, regional broadcaster TelePinar reported an eerie calm in the city of around 145,000 people as the eye hovered over the area, but warned of fierce winds to follow.

Cuban state-run media reported strongest winds to date from Ian at 208 kilometres/hour at San Juan y Martínez, a small town on Cuba’s southwest coast.

Local residents fill sandbags, as Hurricane Ian spun toward the state carrying high winds, torrential rains and a powerful storm surge, at Ben T. Davis Beach in Tampa, Florida, U.S., September 26, 2022. (Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

Pinar del Río province is a lightly populated region but a top producer of farm crops and tobacco. State-run media said 33,000 tonnes of tobacco from prior harvests had been secured ahead of the storm.

Rain and winds buffeted Havana early on Tuesday, but the city, under a tropical storm watch and preparing for a potential storm surge, looked likely to be spared the brunt of Ian’s strongest winds.

The hurricane hits Cuba at a time of dire economic crisis. Hours-long blackouts had become every day events across much of the island – even before the storm – and shortages of food, medicine and fuel are likely to complicate efforts to recover from Ian.

A massive Hurricane Ian, as captured by satellite imagery around 7:40 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, battering western Cuba as a category three system. (Photo: National Hurricane Center)

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center warned of a life-threatening storm surge, flash floods and possible mudslides across western Cuba on Tuesday.

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