He sows devastation.
Hurricane Ian ravaged western Cuba on Tuesday without causing any casualties but leaving behind the island in the dark and countless scenes of desolation, before heading for Florida, where residents and authorities were on alert. in the face of an "extremely dangerous" phenomenon.
Cuba is "without electric service", tweeted the state electricity company Union Eléctrica.
"The hurricane is moving away from national territory, but its destructive effects persist," tweeted the Cuban Civil Defense.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned in its 5:00 p.m. bulletin that the Category 3 hurricane would approach the west coast of Florida as an "extremely dangerous intense hurricane".
Ian, which made landfall in the early hours of the morning in Cuba's western province of Pinar del Rio, was 375 kilometers from Sarasota, Fla., on Tuesday afternoon and moving forward, with sustained winds of 195 km/h, at a speed of 17 km/h.
Postponement of the Rocket Launch
A state of emergency was declared across Florida and authorities stepped up preparations.
Some of the modeling done now predicts landfall south of Tampa Bay (…) In some areas there will be catastrophic flooding and deadly storm surges,” Governor Ron DeSantis warned.
He asked residents to stock up and prepare for power cuts, while mobilizing 7,000 members of the National Guard.
US President Joe Biden has approved federal emergency aid for 24 of Florida's 67 counties.
"My administration is on alert and in action to help the people of Florida," he said.
Air assets such as helicopters are particularly ready to intervene, said Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder.
In Tampa, city hall employees filled sandbags on Tuesday and distributed them free of charge across the city.
Authorities have ordered evacuations in the most vulnerable areas, located near the ocean.
NASA, the American space agency, has given up the takeoff scheduled for Tuesday of its new mega-rocket for the Moon, from the Kennedy Space Center located in this southern state of the United States.
Ian follows Hurricane Fiona, which ravaged the Atlantic coast of Canada on Saturday, killing three people, after the Caribbean last week where seven people died.
Planet