Syndication: Sarasota Herald-Tribune
HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Ian is nearing Cuba on a track to strike Florida as a Category 4 as early as Wednesday.
One emergency management director says “this is not a drill.” Tampa and St. Petersburg are among the most likely targets for their first direct hit by a major hurricane in a century.
Ian is already getting stronger and is forecast to move quickly over Cuba’s western tip Monday. Then it will turn northward and slow down over warm Gulf of Mexico waters, conditions ripe for brewing the strongest hurricanes.
Forecasters say the storm surge could reach 10 feet. Hundreds of thousands of people could face mandatory evacuation orders.
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