Something we have never seen before: Florida braces for Hurricane Ian's impact
India Today
As Hurricane Ian gathers force, people in Florida have been warned to prepare for the impacts of the Category 2 storm.
"Something that we haven’t seen in our lifetime," a US weatherman said while talking about hurricane Tampa which is spinning towards Florida carrying high winds, torrential rains and a powerful storm surge. Ian, now a Category 2 hurricane, has prompted urgent evacuations as it is expected to make landfall anytime in the middle of this week.
"The eye of the storm is located around 150 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba and Ian is moving north-northwest near 13 mph," a Miami-based National Hurricane Centre said. Meanwhile, Florida could start feeling the impact as early as Tuesday.
The forecast for Ian has also shown an "unprecedented rate of strengthening from a tropical storm to a powerful hurricane," CNN reported.
By the time the hurricane moves to Cuba, it is likely to intensify into a Category 3 with winds of 120 mph or greater. Parts of Cuba and Jamaica are expected to witness flash flooding and mudslides.
A mandatory evacuation order has been issued to residents of Florida's Tampa and similar orders are expected to be issued in other states.
Residents across Florida scrambled to place sandbags around their homes and stockpile emergency supplies on Monday, emptying store shelves as Hurricane Ian spun toward the state.
The Biden administration declared a public health emergency for the state on Monday and said it was working with local officials to provide support.
