An alert has been issued to British holidaymakers in Florida as the state’s governor warned of a “potential disaster” as Hurricane Ian approaches.
In updated travel advice, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the hurricane is expected to reach the Florida coast on Wednesday.
A hurricane warning has been issued by the US National Hurricane Center for the Fort Myers and Tampa Bay areas of western Florida.
However, the FCDO cautioned that the entire state may be affected to differing degrees.
“Strong winds and heavy rainfall are expected and there is a high risk of flooding from rain and coastal storm surges,” according to the fresh travel advisory.
“You should closely monitor local and international weather updates from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) and follow the advice of local authorities and/or your tour operator including any evacuation orders.
“See our Tropical Cyclones page for advice on what to do if you are caught up in a storm.”
While hurricane’s exact path is uncertain, governor Ron DeSantis warned of “broad impacts throughout the state”.
Residents have been stocking up on food, water, medicine and fuel.
Some parts of Florida have not seen a hurricane of this magnitude in about a century.
DeSantis said Hurricane Ian posed a risk of “dangerous storm surge, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, strong winds, hazardous seas, and isolated tornadic activity”.
A bulletin issued last night by the NHC said that Ian could develop into a category three storm with wind speeds of 120mph or greater by the time it hits Cuba.
The island could see up to 10 inches of rain from Hurricane Ian, while Jamaica and the Cayman islands could receive between 3-6 inches.
Parts of the Caribbean are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Fiona, which struck the region last week.
Areas of the Atlantic Canada coastline and eastern Quebec were also hit with power lines down and homes swept away.
In an update on Monday, the line said the ship was also unable to call at Charlottetown and would instead head for Cap aux Meules in Quebec’s Magdalen Islands “where the weather is looking good for our tender operations on Wednesday”.
Apologising on Twitter, the company said the itinerary changes to the Grand Canada, Greenland and Iceland cruise were “unavoidable and outside our control due to the damage caused by the severe weather conditions”.