Hurricane Ian nears Florida coast, threatening floods, winds

Winds and rain has begun intensifying, a day after Ian battered the western tip of Cuba as a dangerous major hurricane.

Eastbound traffic crowds Interstate 4 as people evacuate in preparation for Hurricane Ian approaches the western side of the state on Tuesday. (Photo | AP)

MIAMI: Forecasters say Hurricane Ian has become an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm as it approaches Florida's west coast.

The US National Hurricane Center in Miami said at 5 am on Wednesday that Ian now has top sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph) and is centered about 75 miles (125 kilometres) west-southwest of Naples, Florida.

It said Ian is moving north at a forward speed of 10 mph (17 kph). The major hurricane has prompted warnings of possibly dangerous storm surges along the state's heavily populated Gulf Coast from Bonita Beach to the Tampa Bay region.

Winds and rain has begun intensifying, a day after Ian battered the western tip of Cuba as a dangerous major hurricane.

The storm left more than 1 million people there without power before intensifying over the Gulf of Mexico on approach to the Florida peninsula's west coast.