Ian made landfall in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 people, rushed emergency personnel and took measures to protect crops in the country’s main tobacco-growing region. The US National Hurricane Center said Cuba suffered “significant wind and storm surge impacts” when the typhoon hit with top winds of 125 mph (205 kmh). Ian was expected to strengthen further in the warm Gulf of Mexico, packing winds of 130 mph (209 km/h) as it nears the southwest coast of Florida, where 2.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate. Tropical storm-force winds were expected across the southern peninsula late Tuesday, reaching Wednesday – when the eye of the hurricane was forecast to make landfall. With tropical storm-force winds extending 140 miles (225 km) from Ian’s center, damage was expected across a wide area of Florida. It was not yet clear exactly where Ian would crash land. Its exact track could determine how severe the storm surge is for Tampa Bay, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. Falling south of the bay could make the impact “much less bad,” McNoldy said. Gil Gonzalez boarded up his windows with plywood Tuesday and had sandbags ready to protect his Tampa home. He and his wife had stocked up on bottled water and flashlights, batteries for their cell phones and a stove with a large propane burner as they prepared to evacuate. “All the valuables, we’ve put them upstairs at a friend’s house and nearby, and we’ve got the car loaded,” Gonzalez said. He added: “I think we’re ready.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged people to prepare for widespread power outages and get out of the storm’s possible path. “It’s a big storm, it’s going to dump a lot of water as it comes in,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Sarasota, a coastal city of 57,000 that could be hit. “And you’re going to end up with really significant storm surge and you’re going to end up with really significant flood events. And that’s the kind of storm that’s life-threatening.” Hundreds of residents were evacuated from several nursing homes in the Tampa area, where hospitals were also transporting some patients. Airports in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Key West were closed. Busch Gardens in Tampa was closed ahead of the storm, while several Orlando-area theme parks, including Disney World and Sea World, planned to close Wednesday and Thursday. NASA dropped the moon rocket from the launch pad in the Kennedy Space Center hangar, adding weeks of delay to the test flight. Ian’s forward motion was expected to slow over the Gulf, allowing the hurricane to grow and strengthen. The hurricane warning was extended Tuesday to cover about 220 miles (350 kilometers) of Florida’s west coast. The area includes Fort Myers as well as Tampa and St. Petersburg, which could be directly affected by a major hurricane since 1921. Forecasters said the storm surge could reach 12 feet (3.6 meters) if it peaks at high tide. Precipitation near land may exceed 18 inches (46 cm). “It’s a monster, and then there’s the confusion of the trail,” said Renee Correa, who was headed inland to Orlando from the Tampa area with her daughter and Chihuahua. “Tampa was lucky for 100 years, but now it’s a little scary.” Kelly Johnson was preparing to dive at her home two blocks from the beach in Dunedin, west of Tampa. He said he would escape to the second floor if seawater surged inland and had a generator ready in case he lost power. “I’m a Floridian and we know how to deal with hurricanes,” Johnson said. “That’s part of living in paradise — knowing that every now and then these storms come against you.” Forecasters warned that the hurricane would be felt over a wide area as it plowed into Florida with an expected turn to the north. Flash flooding was possible across the state, and parts of Florida’s east coast faced a possible storm surge threat as Ian’s bands approach the Atlantic Ocean. Parts of Georgia and South Carolina may also experience flooding rain over the weekend. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp preemptively declared a state of emergency Tuesday, ordering 500 National Guard troops to be on standby to respond as needed. As the center of the storm moved into the Gulf, scenes of devastation were seen in Cuba’s world-famous smoke belt. The owner of top cigar producer Finca Robaina posted pictures on social media of wooden roofs smashed to the ground, greenhouses in rubble and wagons overturned. “It was revealing, a real disaster,” wrote Hirochi Robaina, grandson of the company’s founder. State media published photos showing water flowing through the town of San Juan y Martinez. The western provinces of Pinar del Rio and Artemisa were completely without power. Local government station TelePinar reported heavy damage to the main hospital in the city of Pinar del Rio, posting on Twitter photos of collapsed roofs, downed trees and debris thrown around its property. No deaths were reported. At the White House, President Joe Biden said his administration was sending hundreds of Federal Emergency Management Agency workers to Florida and sought to reassure mayors in the storm’s path that Washington would meet their needs. He called on residents to follow the orders of local officials. “Your safety is more important than anything else,” he said.
Anderson reported from St. Petersburg, Florida. Associated Press contributors include Cody Jackson in Tampa, Fla., Freida Frisaro in Miami, Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Fla., Mike Schneider in Orlando, Fla., Seung Min Kim and Seth Borenstein in Washington, and Bobby Caina Calvan and Julie Walker in New York.
