Hurricane Ian was rapidly intensifying Monday as the massive storm hurtled toward Cuba and Florida, prompting a swath of hurricane and storm surge warnings in Florida and the first evacuations along the state's west coast.
The National Weather Service on Monday issued a hurricane watch along the west coast of Florida from north of Englewood to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a statewide state of emergency, urging residents to load up on food, water, medicine, batteries and fuel.
Bethune-Cookman University canceled classes Monday at its campus in Daytona Beach and said it would reconvene remotely on Tuesday.
"Expect heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge and even isolated tornadoes. Make preparations now," DeSantis said Sunday. "Anticipate power outages. That is something that is likely to happen with a hurricane of this magnitude."
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