Hurricane Ian approaching Cuba on course to hit Florida as Category 4

Written by Christiana Mesquita and Kurt Anderson

HAVANA (AFP) – Hurricane Ian was getting stronger as it approached the western tip of Cuba on Monday, on track to hit the west coast of Florida as a major hurricane early Wednesday.

Ian was expected to hit Cuba as a major hurricane and then become a stronger Category 4 hurricane with maximum winds of 140 miles (225 km) over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before hitting Florida along a stretch of coast including the Tampa Bay area.

Please take this storm seriously. It’s the real deal. “This is not a drill,” Hillsborough County Director of Emergency Management Timothy Dudley said at a news conference Monday about storm preparations in Tampa.

Authorities in Cuba suspended classes in Pinar del Rio province and planned evacuations on Monday as Ian gained strength as he approached Grand Cayman and the Cuban provinces of Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio and Artemisa. Cuba was shutting down its train system before the worst weather.

“Cuba is expecting strong hurricane-force winds, as well as life-threatening storms and torrential rain,” Daniel Brown, a specialist with the US National Hurricane Center told The Associated Press early Monday.

At 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, Ian was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 km/h), about 240 miles (385 km) southeast of Cuba’s western tip, with strong winds rising to 80 mph (130 km/h).

As the hurricane approached the Cayman Islands, members of the government and the opposition were working together “to ensure our people are as safe as possible – supplies, plywood and in some cases sandbags are being distributed so they can weather this storm safely,” Prime Minister Wayne Banton said in a video released on Sunday. “We must prepare for the worst, pray and hope for the best.”

“Ian is not expected to spend much time over western Cuba, and additional strengthening is likely over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday,” the center said. “Ian will likely have a wind field that is expanding and will slow down by then, which would have the potential to have significant wind and storm effects along Florida’s west coast.”

Up to 10 feet (3 meters) of ocean water and 10 inches (25 cm) of rain were projected across the Tampa Bay area, with up to 15 inches (38 cm) inches in isolated areas. That’s enough water to flood low-lying coastal communities.

Florida residents were preparing, queuing for hours in Tampa to collect sandbags and clean store shelves of bottled water. As many as 300,000 people may be evacuated from low-lying areas in Hillsborough County alone, County Administrator Bonnie Wise said at a press conference Monday about preparations.

Some of those evacuations began Monday afternoon in the most vulnerable areas, with schools and other sites opening as shelters. We must do everything we can to protect our residents. “Time is of the essence,” Wise said.

A hurricane-hour was issued for Florida’s central west coast including the Tampa Bay area, with Hillsborough County suspending lessons until Thursday to prepare schools to serve as shelters for evacuees. Brown said additional hours may be issued for northern regions along the peninsula’s west coast.

Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for all of Florida and urged residents to prepare for a storm that is hitting swathes of the state with heavy rain, high winds and rising sea levels.

President Joe Biden also declared a state of emergency, allowing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate disaster relief and provide assistance to protect life and property. The president postponed a scheduled September 27 trip to Florida due to the storm.

Flash and urban flash floods were expected across much of the Florida peninsula in the middle of the week, so torrential rain was possible in the southeastern US later this week. With tropical storm-force winds extending 115 miles (185 kilometers) from its center, hours were issued Monday from the Florida Keys to Lake Okeechobee.

As of Monday, Tampa and St. Petersburg looked among the most likely targets for their first direct hit by a major hurricane in a century.

Bob Gualtieri, mayor of Pinellas County, Florida, which includes Saint Petersburg, said in a briefing that while no one will be forced to leave, “mandatory” eviction orders are expected to begin on Tuesday.

“What he means is we won’t help you. If you don’t, you’re on your own,” Gualtieri said.

The evacuation zone is located along Tampa Bay and the rivers that feed it, including MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa International Airport, and well-known neighborhoods such as parts of Hyde Park, the Davis Islands and Ybor City.

St Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch urged residents not to ignore evacuation orders. “This is a very real threat this storm poses to our community,” Welch said.

The Hurricane Center advised Florida residents to make hurricane plans and monitor updates to the storm’s evolving path.

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Associated Press contributors include Kurt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Julie Walker in New York.

from San Jose News Bulletin https://sjnewsbulletin.com/hurricane-ian-approaching-cuba-on-course-to-hit-florida-as-category-4/