Hurricane Ian: Millions across Florida and Cuba lose power
- Published
Hurricane Ian has left millions without power across the US state of Florida and the Caribbean country of Cuba.
The storm was upgraded from Category 3 to Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale – a measure of how strong a hurricane is. On Wednesday, the wind reached speeds of up to 150 miles per hour along Florida’s south west coast, bringing flooding and damage to buildings and roads.
There was a power outage across the entire country of Cuba, leaving 11 million without access to electricity. In Florida, more than 2.2 million households are also without power. US officials have said that blackouts will continue until the storm has passed and fixes to the network can be made.
By 11pm in Florida (4am UK time), wind speeds were reported to have slowed a lot to 90 miles per hour. Hurricane Ian has now been downgraded to a category 1 storm, meaning it is not as strong or as dangerous as it was when it was category 4, but it is still a threat.
This satellite image shows Hurricane Ian just off the coast of Cuba moving towards Florida. As a result of the stormy weather, Nasa has delayed a mission to the International Space Station. The crew were originally meant to launch from the east coast of Florida on Monday, but Nasa says this will now be pushed back to 4 October at the earliest. “Mission teams will continue to monitor the impacts of Ian on the Space Coast and Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and could adjust the launch date again, as necessary,” the American space agency said in a blog post. All Thursday's flights from Jacksonville International Airport have also been cancelled.
The town of Fort Myers Beach was one of the worst affected areas in Florida. The area was almost completely underwater due to flooding, with cars seen floating by in the water. More than 2.5 million people in Florida were told to leave their homes and stock up on essential supplies.
US President Joe Biden has warned Florida residents to stay safe and follow all warnings and advice from authorities. People have been moved to shelters in schools and other buildings to stay safe. Some schools in Florida have been forced to close and move their lessons online.
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