Tropical Storm Ian strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane (on a scale of up to 5) as it approached Cuba this morning, and is expected to become a “major” hurricane tonight or tomorrow morning before reaching the western Cuba, warned the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The United States National Hurricane Center has issued a “hurricane watch” for several regions of Cuba (Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Río and Artemisa). The largest island in the British Territory of the Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman, has also issued a hurricane warning. Ian should be near her today.
“Great Hurricane”, devastating hurricane
The NHC predicts that Ian will become a “major” hurricane in the next 24 to 48 hours, that is, according to its nomenclature, capable of inflicting “devastating” damage, damaging houses, uprooting trees and interrupting water and electricity supplies.
The organization classifies as “major” hurricanes those whose winds reach at least 178 km/h, that is, categories 3, 4 and 5 of the so-called “Saffir-Simpson” scale. Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the southeastern United States in 2005, was a Type 5 hurricane and the strongest recorded hurricane in the country’s history.
Ian must go up, through the Gulf of Mexico, towards Florida, which has already begun to take precautions. NASA has completed the takeoff scheduled for this Tuesday of its new megarocket to the Moon, from the Kennedy Space Center located in this southern state of the United States.
“Now is the time to prepare”
US President Joe Biden has placed Florida in a “state of emergency”, allowing federal aid to be released, while Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has called on residents on Twitter to “take precautions”.
Joe Biden also gave up a trip that should have taken him to Florida on Tuesday. In various locations in the state, the authorities began to distribute sandbags to protect homes from the risk of flooding. “Now is the time to prepare. Don’t wait until it’s too late,” tweeted Jane Castor, mayor of Tampa, a city the NHC says is in Ian’s path.
Source: BFM TV
