hello, and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i m john vause, at the cnn center in atlanta. as we head into the midnight hour on the u.s. east coast, almost the entire state of florida is bracing for the impact of hurricane ian, a monster storm stressing 500 miles across. which earlier made landfall on cuba, blocking out the eyelids electricity grid and causing a nationwide blackout. 11 million people right now are in the dark, waiting for morning to assess the damage. as of, now there are no reports of fatalities. since leaving cuba, ian has grown in strength, fueled by the warm waters of the gulf of mexico, as it heads towards florida, now category 3, with sustained winds of 135 miles per hour. along with life-threatening storm surge, florida is facing catastrophic flooding and strong powerful winds. all they, long tuesday, residents across the state braced for the hurricane to make landfall. now expected the first forecast, and further south.
calls for evacuation growing louder and more urgent as hurricane ian bows down on. florida the category 3 storm has already slammed into cuba, leaving a path of destruction on the western side of the island. also causing a nationwide blackout. more than 11 million people right now in the dark until morning. officials say electricity will be stored in the day ahead. ian is expected to make landfall in florida in the coming hours, between sarasota and port charlotte as a category 3 or category 4 hurricane. u.s. president joe biden has promised federal support for areas impacted by ian. i just spoke this morning with areas likely to be hit. the mayors of tampa, st. pete s, and clearwater. all of them, all of them are in the storm s path. and they are focused on the safety of their communities, and they are doing everything they can to get people out of harm s way. i told each of them in conversation separately,
hello, and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i m john vause, at the cnn center in atlanta. as we head into the midnight hour on the u.s. east coast, almost the entire state of florida is bracing for the impact of hurricane ian, a monster storm stressing 500 miles across. which earlier made landfall on cuba, blocking out the eyelids electricity grid and causing a nationwide blackout. 11 million people right now are in the dark, waiting for morning to assess the damage. as of, now there are no reports of fatalities. since leaving cuba, ian has grown in strength, fueled by the warm waters of the gulf of mexico, as it heads towards florida, now category 3, with sustained winds of 135 miles per hour. along with life-threatening storm surge, florida is facing catastrophic flooding and strong powerful winds. all they, long tuesday, residents across the state