The power goes out all over Cuba, in Florida 2.5 million people are called to get to safety: hurricane ian is moving with destructive force from the Caribbean to the American mainland, which it should reach on Wednesday evening.
After its whirlwind over Cuba, the power went out nationwide there. This is due to weather-related damage to the power grid, said the state electricity provider of the socialist Caribbean state, UNE, on Facebook. Restoring the power supply is a complicated process that will take place gradually during the night and in the morning. In the capital, Havana, lights could only be seen in the few buildings that had generators — mostly in hotels. Parts of the country, including the capital, were without power for most of Tuesday.
A woman holds her dog while waiting for a van in Pinar del Río province. She lost her house in the hurricane.
(Photo: Ramon Espinosa/dpa)
The storm made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday morning (local time) as a category 3 of 5 hurricane. The extent of the damage is still unclear – also because information is only coming out slowly due to disrupted Internet connections. “The damage is great, although not yet statistically recorded,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on Twitter after a visit to the province of Pinar del Río, which was particularly hard hit. Cuba’s power supply was already before ian unreliable, the infrastructure is outdated, the power plants too small. Many parts of the country experience frequent, long power outages.
Meanwhile, the US state of Florida is gearing up for ian. “Predictions are subject to change, but for now the experts are saying this could be a very severe hurricane, life threatening and with devastating effects,” said US President Joe Biden. The US hurricane center warned of a life-threatening storm surge and hurricane gusts on the west coast of Florida. Evacuation instructions applied to 2.5 million people – numerous people got to safety.
Meteorologists warned that ian gaining strength over the warm Gulf of Mexico and could reach sustained wind speeds of more than 200 kilometers per hour. The hurricane is expected to weaken before making landfall south of the city of Tampa, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. But because it then moves at a “snail’s pace”, a lot of rain will fall in the coastal region.
DeSantis called on people to protect themselves. No one should assume that things will turn out lightly again this time, because that has often been the case in the past. Houses can be rebuilt – but personal safety takes precedence over everything. “You still have some time, but that time is running out fast,” DeSantis said.
In Florida, the first foothills of the hurricane can already be felt. What was mainly a photo motif for some on Tuesday …
(Photo: Rob O’neal/dpa)
… is a serious threat to most: near Tampa Bay, the freeway is full of fleeing people.
(Photo: Willie J. Allen Jr/Imago)
The region expected to be affected by the storm has not experienced such a hurricane for about a hundred years, warned Deanne Criswell of the American Disaster Management Agency FEMA. It is important that people who have not lived in the southeastern state for long and have little experience with hurricanes take the matter seriously. Experts are also worried that in the past few decades, construction in the region has been getting closer and closer to the water. Floods could damage or destroy many buildings.
Launch of the next rocket to the ISS postponed
The US Department of Defense said more than 3,200 members of the Florida National Guard have been activated, with another 1,800 standing by if needed. Florida has positioned soldiers, air force personnel and equipment at bases across the state in preparation for deployment to storm-hit areas, a department spokesman said. For example, the National Guard can clear streets and help with search and rescue operations.
Because ian the launch of the next crew to the International Space Station, which was scheduled for October 3, has also been postponed. In the capital Washington, a public hearing by the investigative committee on the Capitol attack scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled.
Typhoon Noru kills 16 in Cambodia
A hurricane also caused severe destruction in Asia: in Cambodia there was a typhoon noru led to massive flooding. At least 16 people had drowned in the floods by Wednesday, the newspaper reported Phnom Penh Post citing civil protection. The Mekong River in particular has swollen due to the persistent rain, it said. At least eight people had previously died in the Philippines.
A flooded street in Hoi An in Vietnam.
(Photo: Nhac Nguyen/AFP)
In Vietnam, the power went out in several provinces. Trees fell, roofs were blown off and thousands of homes were damaged. There raged noru but not as strong as feared: the wind speed was up to 133 kilometers per hour when the storm hit the coast, the national meteorological authority said. After that, the typhoon weakened to top speeds of 117 kilometers per hour. As a precaution, the authorities had brought hundreds of thousands of people to safety on Tuesday and closed ten airports. A night curfew was also imposed. Experts are still expecting heavy rainfall in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand in the coming days.