Hurricane Ian makes landfall in western Cuba

Hurricane Ian has torn into western Cuba with nothing to stop it from intensifying into a Category 4 hurricane before it is expected to hit Florida on Wednesday.

Tampa and St Petersburg in Florida could get their first direct hit since 1921 by a major hurricane.

Ian made landfall on Tuesday morning in the province of Pinar del Rio, where officials set up 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 people, and took measures to protect crops in the island's main tobacco-growing region.

The NHC of the US National Hurricane Center said significant wind and storm surge impacts were occurring in western Cuba, with Ian sustaining top winds of 125 mph 205 km h as it moved over the city of Pinar del Rio.

After passing over Cuba, Ian was forecast to strengthen even more over warm Gulf of Mexico waters, reaching top winds of 140 mph 225 km h before making landfall again. Tropical storm force winds were expected in Florida late on Tuesday, reaching hurricane force on Wednesday.

The NHC said there was a 100% chance of damaging winds and water along Florida's west coast, and issuing a hurricane warning from Bonita Beach north through Tampa Bay to the Anclote River.

Please treat this storm seriously. This is not a drill, Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director, Timothy Dudley, said on Monday at a news conference on storm preparations in Tampa.

Western Cuba is relatively lightly populated but with tropical storm force winds extending outward 115 miles 185 km from Ian's centre, Cuba s capital was not spared. Havana s residents worry about the flood ahead of the storm, with workers unclogging storm drains and fishers taking their boats out of the water.

Adyz Ladron said that I am very scared because my house is completely flooded, with water up to here.

Residents packed up what they could in Havana s El Fanguito, a poor neighbourhood near the Almendares River.

I hope we escape this one because it would be the end of us. Well, we already have so little, health worker Abel Rodrigues said.

Ian's forward movement was expected to slow down over the Gulf, allowing the hurricane to grow wider and stronger before it can cause severe wind and water damage to Florida's west coast.

The surge of ocean water could reach 10 ft 3 metres if it peaks at high tide, according to forecasters. Rainfall could total 16 in 41 cm with as much as 24 in 61 cm in isolated areas. Floridians lined up for hours in Tampa to collect sand and clear store shelves of bottled water. Governor Ron DeSantis declared a statewide emergency and warned that Ian could lash large areas of the state, knocking out power and interrupting fuel supplies.

The major hurricane may end up as a Category 4 hurricane, DeSantis said at a news conference Monday. That is going to cause a huge amount of storm surge. You're going to have a lot of different impacts. The NHC said that there were dangers across the entire peninsula, as Ian moved north, reaching into Georgia, South Carolina and other parts of the southeastern US on Friday and Sunday.