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Ian strengthens into major Category 3 hurricane as storm makes landfall in Cuba
Hurricane Ian strengthened into a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday morning as it made landfall in western Cuba, U.S. officials said.
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Hurricane Ian strengthened into a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday morning as it made landfall in western Cuba, U.S. officials said.
Landfall was just southwest of the town of La Coloma in the Pinar Del Río province at around 4:30 a.m. ET, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in an early Tuesday morning update.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a statewide emergency, saying Ian could hit the state as a punishing Category 4 hurricane, with wind speeds topping 130 mph. A direct hit on Tampa Bay is expected as soon as Wednesday.
"That’s going to cause a huge amount of storm surge," DeSantis said. "You’re going to have flood events. You’re going to have a lot of different impacts.”
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from Pinar del Río as authorities sent in emergency and medical personnel ahead of the storm's arrival this week, The Associated Press reported.