- Title: Florida braces for Hurricane Ian after lights go out in Cuba
- Date: 28th September 2022
- Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (SEPTEMBER 27, 2022) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) TRACKING SHOT OF CAR DRIVING ALONG STREET IN THE DARK HEADLIGHTS OF A VEHICLE IN THE DARKNESS/ COUPLE WALKING ON DARK STREET PORT CHARLOTTE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 27, 2022) (REUTERS) VEHICLES WAITING IN LINE AT A FUEL STATION MAN AT FUEL PUMP VARIOUS SHOTS OF ABRAHAM PAPAM'S SON-IN-LAW BOARDING UP THEIR
- Embargoed: 12th October 2022 09:39
- Keywords: Cuba Florida Hurricane Hurricane Ian Miami Ron DeSantis
- Location: PINAR DEL RIO AND HAVANA, CUBA/ MIAMI, PORT CHARLOTTE, TALLAHASSEE AND TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA, and WASHINGTON, D.C. UNITED STATES
- City: PINAR DEL RIO AND HAVANA, CUBA/ MIAMI, PORT CHARLOTTE, TALLAHASSEE AND TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA, and WASHINGTON, D.C. UNITED STATES
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,South America / Central America,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA003845028092022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hurricane Ian barreled north from Cuba on Tuesday (September 27), after forcing evacuations on the island, cutting power to more than 1 million people and flattening homes on its way to Florida in the United States.
Ian made landfall in Cuba's Pinar del Rio Province early on Tuesday, prompting officials to cut power to the entire province of 850,000 people as a precautionary measure and evacuate 40,000 people from low-lying coastal areas, according to local media reports.
Violent wind gusts shattered windows and ripped metal roofs off homes and buildings throughout the region, where many houses are decades old and infrastructure is antiquated. Roads into the areas directly hit by the hurricane remained impassable, blocked by downed trees and powerlines.
"I've never seen anything like this," said Ana Julia Gomez, a 56-year old woman who lives alone in Pinar del Rio, as she surveyed the wreckage inside her storm-ravaged home. "I lost everything, nothing is left."
Rain and strong winds also lashed Cuba's capital, Havana. The Technical director of Cuba's Electricity Union (UNE) Lazaro Guerra said the system was under strain from the hurricane. By late afternoon, as Ian's winds howled across the city, the power began to falter across the capital and streets emptied as most residents took refuge in anticipation of potential flooding and storm surge.
The Category 3 hurricane was 265 miles south of Sarasota, Florida by mid-afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (195 km per hour), the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
With memories of the devastation of Hurricane Charley 18 years ago, residents of Port Charlotte, Florida stocked up on petrol and other essential supplies in anticipation of the Hurricane’s arrival.
One local Port Charlotte resident, Abraham Papam, boarded up his daughter's animal hospital business with his son-in-law. He said they lost their business after Hurricane Charley hit, so he was feeling nervous about another tropical cyclone approaching their area.
As the hurricane drew near, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told residents of southwestern Florida to "evacuate now" and said the storm would increase to category four by the time it hit the peninsula.
President Joe Biden said he had approved the state's request for emergency assistance and added that help was on the way from other states.
The U.S. the National Weather Service said the storm surge along Florida's Gulf Coast could cause devastating to catastrophic damage with some locations potentially uninhabitable for weeks or months.
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