"...Ian pummeled the island nation's western regions for more than five hours before its eye moved out over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Authorities have not yet been able to assess the damage, but residents described "destruction" and posted images on social media of flooded streets and felled trees. No deaths or injuries have yet been reported.
'Desolation and destruction. These are terrifying hours. Nothing is left here,' said a 70-year-old resident of the western city of Pinar del Río in a message to his journalist son that was shared on social media.
Ian is expected to "keep heading northwards, gradually moving over the southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, moving its center away from Cuban territory," said the Cuba's Insmet meteorological institute. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Ian, classified as a major hurricane, made landfall just southwest of the town of La Coloma in Pinar del Río province at about 4:30 am local time (0830 GMT).
About 40,000 people had been evacuated from their homes Cuba's western Pinar del Río province, where Ian made landfall. In the town of Consolación del Sur, images captured by AFP showed downed power lines, flooded streets and a scattering of damaged rooftops. An official at the state electricity company said power was out in the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa. Those were two of the three provinces put on maximum alert Monday night."
Hurricane Ian is expected to directly hit the US state of Florida on Wednesday, with forecasters warning of life-threatening storm surges and "devastating" winds after it reportedly killed two and left millions without power in Cuba.
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