Hurricane Ian continues to bring a dangerous and risky storm surge and winds as strong as 140 mph when it nears US’ Florida’s Gulf Coast in the middle of this week.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Ian strengthened into a major Category 3 storm as of 5 a.m. ET Tuesday, recording maximum sustained winds of 125 mph as it hit western Cuba, forecasters said.
Officials in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province set up dozens of shelters and took steps to protect crops in Cuba’s main tobacco-growing region. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the island’s west coast could see as much as 14 feet (4.3 meters) of storm surge.
Read more: NASA scraps Tuesday Moon launch due to storm
Precaution
Florida schools have been shutting down to prepare for the storm. Twenty-four Florida school districts, five state universities, and four state colleges announced closures as of Monday with more likely to follow throughout the week.
Cities at high risk of storm surge damage also face heightened risk of mortgage delinquency rates increasing significantly as homeowners, crippled by expenses and lost wages, fail to make monthly mortgage payments.
How to prepare for a hurricane?
NHC said it expects ‘rapid strengthening’ from Ian over the next 48 hours as it inches north from its current location 130 west of Cuba. “This is a really big hurricane at this point,” Florida’s governor said at a Monday news conference, urging residents to “remain calm”, but “do what you need to be prepared”.
Hurricane Ian to hit Florida as a major storm
The American governor declared a state of emergency for all of Florida over the weekend and has activated 5,000 National Guard troops to assist with relief efforts.
