Updated 01:39 | Published at 01:25
Florida residents are evacuating their homes and building sandbag flood defenses as Tropical Storm Idalia intensifies and approaches the state.
The storm’s heavy rains have already hit Cuba, forcing residents to evacuate. Now Idalia is headed for Florida, where hurricane-force winds are expected to affect the state late Tuesday. Idalia is then expected to move in over the coast as a strong hurricane on Wednesday.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 46 of the state’s 67 counties. He warned that the storm’s impact could be large and pointed out that Idalia could be upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane.
Much of Florida’s west coast is at risk of storm surges and flooding. In Pasco and Levy, north of Tampa, residents have been ordered to evacuate. The US National Hurricane Center in Miami has issued a hurricane warning from Longboat Key in the Sarasota area to the Holocene River, up past Tampa Bay.
Tampa International Airport and St.Pete-Clearwater Airport will be closed Tuesday.
Many schools, colleges and universities in the areas expected to be affected will also remain closed.
Idalia is the first storm to hit Florida this year’s hurricane season.