{O/C} {Good evening}
More than 2.5 million residents in Florida have been ordered to evacuate as the U.S. state braces for a direct swipe by Hurricane Ian.
This after Ian carved a trail of devastation across Cuba, leaving it in the dark.
{Take SOT}
It's a horrendous night for Floridians who heeded an evacuation order amid a nightmare.
{Soundbite}
RON DeSANTIS, Florida Governor:
When you have five to ten feet of storm surge, that is not something that you'd want to be a part of and mother nature is a very fearsome adversary.
{VO}
The wrath of which prompted a sluggish mad dash to flee as both roads and airports were crammed with people desperately leaving.
Tampa Bay and Florida's Southwest are preparing for the worst.
Tampa International Airport was closed, stranding travellers.
{Soundbite}
CHRISTINE WILLIAMS, Tourist from London:
They told us to come back today to see if we could get on today's flight. And now we hear that today's flight's cancelled. So we're here at least until Friday.
{VO}
President Joe Biden also amplified a dire plea for residents to flee.
{Soundbite}
JOE BIDEN, U.S. President:
Experts say this could be a very severe hurricane, life-threatening and devastating in its impact.
{VO}
Authorities warned those in low-lying neighbourhoods may see their homes swamped.
Battening down the hatches, residents admitted the severity of the storm was unprecedented.
{Soundbite}
RENEE CORREA, Tampa Resident:
I've been here 45 years, and this is the first time I left for a storm. The water just really scared me, and as well as the path. It was very confusing and I didn't want to risk it.
{VO}
But the storm still wasn't threatening enough to evacuate the stubborn.
{Upsound 01:37 - 01:38}
Earlier, Ian scraped past Cuba with gusts reaching 129 miles per hour.
The Category 3 storm whipped the island country for over seven hours, uprooting trees, toppling roofs and obliterating homes.
64,000 people were evacuated to safety, with many huddling in shelters.
Ian's wicked winds and ferocious rains made their presence felt by pounding windows of the shelters.
The storm also wreaked utter havoc on Cuba's power grid, rendering half a million of its population in the dark.
Rescuers were seen feverishly protecting crops in Cuba's tobacco-growing region from the merciless storm.
One owner of a renowned tobacco farm described the storm as "apocalyptic."
On Cuba's west coast, fallen trees were strewn across the streets with shattered windows.
Authorities there are now racing to restore power to the country of 11 million.
Back in the United States, officials urged residents to beware of Ian's wrath.
{Soundbite}
DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA Administrator:
So therefore if people are told to evacuate by their local officials, please listen to them.
The decision you choose to make may mean the difference between life and death.
{O/C} {And for the record}
The warm waters and shallow seabed of the Gulf of Mexico are bound to compound Hurricane Ian's storm surge, now expected at twelve feet.
{RVO}
Experts say when Hurricane Ian roars onshore, the shallow seabed will feed the storm surge, causing high tides and fierce winds to wreck the region and inundate seaside homes.
What's more, storm surge is often a common cause of hurricane-related fatalities.
Now, the warm Gulf waters are setting Ian on collision course with Florida as it further strengthens into a Category 4 storm throughout the day.
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