Editor’s Note: Affected by the storm? Use CNN’s lite site for low bandwidth.
CNN —
Hurricane Ian is heading toward Florida after raking western Cuba on Tuesday – and officials in the Sunshine State are pleading with people to flee the peninsula’s west coast ahead of what could be life-threatening storm surge in the Tampa and Fort Myers areas and flooding rains.
Ian, a Category 3 storm packing sustained winds of 115 mph, was over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico around 11 a.m. ET, having made landfall in Cuba early Tuesday as a Category 3, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Cuba’s tobacco-rich Pinar del Rio province lost power because of the storm, according to Cuban state television. Floodwater covered fields and fallen trees lay in front of buildings in San Juan y Martinez, a town in the province, images from state media outlet Cubadebate show.
Up to 16 inches of rain and mudslides and flash flooding were possible in western Cuba, the hurricane center said. Mayelin Suarez, a resident of Pinar del Rio city, told Reuters that storm made for the darkest night of her life.
“We almost lost the roof off our house,” Suarez told Reuters. “My daughter, my husband and I tied it down with a rope to keep it from flying away.”
Ian appears headed to western Florida next, where rains and tropical storm-strength winds will begin Tuesday, with the system poised to deliver life-threatening storm surge – ocean water pushed onto land – and flooding rain Wednesday into Thursday morning as it first crawls along off the coast and then heads inland.
The storm could make landfall near Venice – roughly a 20-mile drive southeast of Sarasota – on Wednesday evening as at least a Category 3 hurricane – sustained winds of at least 111 mph.
And officials are warning: Leave the coast now.
“Today is really going to be your last day to … actually move out (of) the storm surge warning area,” Michael Brennan, acting deputy director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told CNN on Tuesday morning.
The storm poses numerous perils for west-central Florida:
• Storm surge: A storm-surge warning – meaning the surge could threaten life – is in effect for much of Florida’s west coast, from Suwanee in the Big Bend region to the peninsula’s tip in the Everglades.
A warning also is in effect for far northeastern Florida’s coast, from near the Georgia state line down to Marineland, as well as for St. John’s River further inland.
The worst – 8 to 12 feet – is forecast Florida’s west coast from just south of Bradenton down to Bonita Beach south of Fort Myers, the hurricane center said.
Large storm surge also is possible in areas to the north and south, including Tampa Bay, which could see a surge of 5 to 8 feet, the hurricane center said.
If that happens, that would break the highest surge recorded in the Tampa Bay area – around 4 feet from 1985’s Hurricane Elena and March 1993’s “Storm of the Century.”
• Rain: Totals could be 12-24 inches around Tampa and west-central Florida through Thursday night, posing numerous flooding threats. That’s two or more months’ worth of rain for that area, as the average September brings about 6 inches of rain there.
• Damaging winds: A hurricane warning – meaning winds of at least 74 mph are expected – covers about 8 million people in parts of west and central Florida – including an area from the Anclote River north of Tampa to Bonita Beach south of Fort Myers.
“So you’re really looking at a multihazard, multiday-long event here in much of the western and central Florida peninsula,” Brennan said.
In Cuba, more than 1 million people live in the three provinces – Pinar del Rio, Isla de Juventud and Artemisa – that experienced hurricane-force winds. The last major hurricane – Category 3 or above – to hit Cuba before Ian was Hurricane Irma in 2017.
The hurricane’s menacing approach to Florida triggered preparations across the state as officials announced school closures and flight cancellations, and the military began moving ships and aircraft.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned of power outages as well as possible evacuations and fuel shortages, telling people to “make preparations now.”
All along Florida’s west coast, officials are urging residents to get out of harm’s way instead of staying to protect their property. “This is nothing to mess around with. If you can leave, just leave now,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said Monday.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of counties in the hurricane warning area stretching from north of Tampa to the Fort Myers area. That included Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties in the Tampa area, Hernando, Sarasota and Charlotte counties, and parts of Lee County, which encompasses Fort Myers. Emergency shelters were opened.
“When we issued that mandatory evacuation, what that means is if you don’t and you call for help, we’re not coming because we’re not going to put our people in harm’s way and put them in peril because you didn’t listen to what we told you to do,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.
With tropical storm conditions possibly beginning Tuesday night, officials are concerned about Ian’s storm surge. The Tampa Bay region is particularly vulnerable to storm surge and could see catastrophic damage from flooding – even if the area doesn’t get a direct hit from the hurricane.
Tampa Electric said it may have to proactively shut down power in the southern tip of downtown early Wednesday in an effort to “avoid serious damage to the underground equipment from saltwater storm surge, which will significantly shorten restoration time after the storm.”
Tampa Bay International Airport will suspend operations at 5 p.m. Tuesday, DeSantis said.
Around the state, residents were waiting in long lines Monday to fill bags of sand or pick up bottled water in preparation for the storm’s arrival.
Resident Khadijah Jones told CNN she was in line for three hours Monday to get free sandbags in Tampa, uncertain if her home will flood.
“Just doing the basics … securing loose materials in the yard, sandbags in low areas, and getting items to prep for no power,” she said.
As the storm approaches a slew of closures and cancellations have been announced.
The HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg announced it has suspended services and transferred patients.
Colleges and universities across the state – including Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach and University of South Florida in Tampa – are taking steps to prepare, including campus evacuations or a shift to online classes.
On the K-12 level, Hillsborough County Schools canceled classes as campuses become storm shelters. And surrounding counties, including Citrus, Pasco, Manatee and Hernando have also announced school closures this week.
Disney World announced some temporary resort closures from Wednesday through Friday due to the weather conditions. At least three cruise lines also began rerouting passengers due to the hurricane.
To help ease congestion on the roads for those leaving evacuation zones, the Florida Department of Transportation will likely authorize emergency shoulder use, which allows drivers to use shoulders at slower speeds, Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s emergency management director, said.
As residents are urged to leave, officials are staging people and equipment to quickly respond when recovery begins.
With widespread power outages likely, Florida Power and Light announced it activated its emergency response plan, mobilizing 13,000 personnel. The company will work to restore power “as long as it’s safe to do so,” the release said, including using smart grid technology to remotely restore power to customers where possible.
Resources from outside the state are also pouring in, Guthrie said.
The Florida National Guard activated 5,000 Florida soldiers and 2,000 additional soldiers from Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina, DeSantis announced Monday.
President Joe Biden on Saturday approved a disaster declaration for Ian.
“The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population,” the White House said in a news release.
US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a public health emergency for the state of Florida – a move meant to give health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs, his office said.
“We will do all we can to assist Florida officials with responding to the health impacts of Hurricane Ian,” Becerra said. “We are working closely with state, local, and tribal health authorities, as well as our federal partners, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support.”
Sign up for CNN’s free Weather Brief newsletter to get email updates on Hurricane Ian.