The hurricane caused widespread damage and flooding while crossing western Cuba on Tuesday. Winds reached 125 miles per hour. And right now, the hurricane is starting to make landfall in the United States. Ian’s dangerous winds are strengthening – possibly reaching a category 5 storm.
Hundreds of thousands of Floridians faced mandatory evacuation orders as the national hurricane center expanded its hurricane warning along more than 150 miles of the state’s gulf coast. 8-thousand residents were without power in southeastern Florida as of Tuesday night, and 30- thousand utility workers are standing by to help respond to power outages.
In preparation for flooding and damages, 176 disaster shelters have opened and more shelters are expected to open. In addition, a total of 5-thousand Florida guardsmen are being activated to state active duty and pre-positioned at armories across the state for Ian response operations.
