an hour. it's gaining strength as it moves close to the florida shoreline. despite the grim warnings of a once-in-a-lifetime storm. some people are going officials piece to evacuate. emergency services have been stopped. those who stay behind might be on their own for hours. before moved into the gulf of mexico, it pounded parts of cuba. cuban officials say the storm dumped more than four inches of rain on the west edge of the island. flooding homes and businesses, knocking out power to more than half of the westernmost province. cnn's patrick oppmann has more from havana. >> hurricane vidalia might have it with only a glancing blow but it still caused quite a bit of pain. it moved across western cuba as a tropical storm. and then turned into a category one hurricane. even though it skirted the farthest western point of key but we still have heavy rains here in havana. at this, point there are still