Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday, with the Caribbean nation and the US state of Florida ramping up preparations for high winds and potential flooding.

About 50,000 people in Cuba's western Pinar del Rio province moved to safer locations, 6,000 of them to state-run shelters and the rest to the homes of relatives and friends, local authorities said.

"Ian is already over Cuban territory," said a meteorologist from the institute in a special broadcast on state television. "The outer wall of the storm is on the coast of the province of Pinar del Rio."

The US National Hurricane Center had warned in an advisory issued early Tuesday that Ian had strengthened into a major Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

"The maximum winds are now estimated to be 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour with higher gusts," it said.

- 'Storm surge' -

In Florida, the city of Tampa was under a hurricane watch, and Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in all 67 counties as officials scrambled to prepare for the storm's forecast landing on Wednesday or Thursday.

Ian "will bring heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge, along with isolated tornado activity along Florida's Gulf Coast," DeSantis said at a press conference in Tallahassee on Monday.

He warned people to prepare for power cuts.

"Even if the eye of the storm doesn't hit your region, you're going to have really significant winds, it's going to knock over trees, it's going to cause interruptions," DeSantis said, warning of likely flooding.

The governor urged residents to stock up on food, water, medicine and fuel, and he called up 7,000 National Guard members to help with the effort.

Authorities in several Florida municipalities, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, started distributing free sandbags to residents to help protect their homes from the risk of flooding.

Tampa International Airport said it would suspend operations on Tuesday at 5:00 pm local time (2100 GMT).

US President Joe Biden approved emergency aid to 24 counties in Florida through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

NASA said it was rolling back its massive Moon rocket into its storage hangar at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida due to the hurricane.

- Fiona's wake -

The Caribbean and parts of eastern Canada are still counting the cost of powerful storm Fiona, which tore through last week, claiming several lives.

When it arrived in Canada, the storm packed intense winds of 80 miles per hour, bringing torrential rain and waves of up to 40 feet (12 meters).

Three people are believed to have died when Fiona barreled into Canada's Atlantic provinces as a post-tropical cyclone early Saturday.

Prince Edward Island authorities confirmed the death of one person, while officials in Newfoundland said they found the body of a 73-year-old woman believed to have been swept from her home. She was apparently sheltering in her basement when waves broke through.

A third person has been reported missing in Nova Scotia -- one of the hardest-hit provinces -- and is presumed dead.

"The devastation is immense," Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told reporters. "The magnitude of the storm is incredible."

Storm surges swept at least 20 homes into the sea in the town of Channel-Port aux Basques, on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland.

Around 200 residents had been evacuated before the storm hit.

"Some people have lost everything, and I mean everything," Mayor Brian Button told CBC News.

Vietnam orders mass evacuations ahead of Super Typhoon Noru
Danang, Vietnam (AFP) Sept 27, 2022 - Vietnam ordered hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes Tuesday as Super Typhoon Noru barrelled towards the busy city of Danang, with forecasters predicting the storm would be one of the biggest to hit the country.

Almost half of Vietnam's airports have been shut, schools and offices across several central provinces were closed and residents rushed to find shelter before the expected arrival of the typhoon on Wednesday.

After slamming into the Philippines earlier this week, where it killed six people, Noru is predicted to make landfall as a super typhoon before 11 am (0400 GMT) and then subside to a severe typhoon as it makes its way inland.

Vietnam's flood and storm control authority said wind speeds would reach 160 kilometres per hour (100 miles per hour), equalling Typhoon Xangsane -- which hit Danang in 2006 and killed 76 people.

Authorities have urged 400,000 people to leave their homes, including in the popular tourist city of Hoi An, where residents were brought to a primary school.

"I wanted to leave. My house is not very strong. I am afraid its roof might be blown away when the typhoon hits," Huynh Mua told AFP, clutching a plastic bag full of clothes, a blanket and several packets of instant noodles.

In Danang, Vietnam's third-biggest city, all shops and hotels were closed, while residents have been banned from going out on the streets from late Tuesday.

According to data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, located in Hawaii, Super Typhoon Noru will be only the sixth major typhoon to hit Vietnam since 1945.

Naru hit the Philippines' Luzon island on Sunday and Monday, toppling trees, knocking out power and flooding low-lying communities.

Five rescuers were killed after being sent to help flooded residents, while another man died after he was hit by a landslide. Officials estimate about $2.4 million worth of crops were damaged.

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Canada counts damage after Fiona; Cuba and Florida brace for storm Ian
Montreal (AFP) Sept 26, 2022
Parts of eastern Canada suffered "immense" devastation, officials said Sunday after powerful storm Fiona swept houses into the sea and caused major power outages, as the Caribbean and Florida braced for intensifying Tropical Storm Ian. Canadian authorities have now confirmed two deaths caused when Fiona, then a post-tropical cyclone, tore into Nova Scotia and Newfoundland early Saturday. Fiona had earlier claimed seven lives as it roared through the Caribbean at the start of a week of havoc. ... read more