In pics: Hurricane Ian hurtles through Cuba, with Florida in its sights

Waves crash against the patio of Lobster Pot restaurant as Hurricane Ian passes through George Town, Grand Cayman island, September 26, 2022. (AP/PTI)

A strengthening Hurricane Ian's rain and winds lashed Cuba's western tip, where authorities have evacuated 50,000 people, as it roared on a path that could see it hit Florida's west coast as a Category 4 hurricane. (AP/PTI)

Officials in Cuba's Pinar del Rio province set up 55 shelters, rushed in emergency personnel and took steps to protect crops in Cuba's main tobacco-growing region ahead of Ian's expected landfall early on Tuesday as a major hurricane. (REUTERS)

Farmer Cito Braga puts plastic on a window of his home ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Coloma, Cuba. The US National Hurricane Centre said the island's west coast could see as much as 14 feet (4.3 metres) of storm surge. (REUTERS)

Local residents fill sandbags, as Hurricane Ian spun toward the state, at Ben T. Davis Beach in Tampa, Florida. After passing over Cuba, Ian was forecast to strengthen further over warm Gulf of Mexico waters before reaching Florida as early as Wednesday as a Category 4 storm with top winds of 140 mph. (REUTERS)

As of Monday, Tampa and St. Petersburg appeared to be among the most likely targets for their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921. (REUTERS)

A resident of El Fanguito neighborhood carries a mattress in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Ian, in Havana, Cuba. In Havana on Monday, fishermen were taking their boats out of the water along the famous Malecon seaside boulevard, and city workers were unclogging storm drains ahead of the expected rain. (AP)

Shoppers at the Costco store in Altamonte Springs, Florida, grab bottles of water from the last pallet in stock. Floridians lined up for hours in Tampa to collect bags of sand and cleared store shelves of bottled water. (AP)

Workers remove a boat from the water in the bay of Havana. The National Hurricane Centre said “significant wind and storm surge impacts” were expected on Tuesday morning in western Cuba. (AP)

This September 26, 2022, satellite image released by NASA shows Hurricane Ian growing stronger as it barreled toward Cuba. Ian won't linger over Cuba but will slow down over the Gulf of Mexico, growing wider and stronger, "which will have the potential to produce significant wind and storm surge impacts along the west coast of Florida”, the hurricane centre said. (NASA Worldview/EOSDIS via AP)