Authorities in Florida have ordered 2.5 million people to evacuate before Hurricane Ian hits the US state. The US National Hurricane Centre said "significant wind and storm surge impacts" were occurring on Tuesday in western Cuba. Ian's sustained top winds were 205 kmph.
The powerful hurricane has left a trail of destruction and caused a widespread blackout in Cuba. Ian hit Cuba's western regions for more than five hours early Tuesday morning, before moving out over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Insmet meteorological institute said.
The storm damaged Cuba's power network and plunged the island into darkness, leaving it "without electrical service," state electricity company Union Electrica said on Twitter.
As it heads towards Florida, people living there have been posting images and videos of the changing weather in the state.
The Pentagon said 3,200 national guardsmen had been called up in Florida, with an additional 1,800 coming later. And Tampa International Airport suspended operations from Tuesday evening.