DLNews Breaking news:

Flooding, some meters high, 800,000 households are currently without electricity.

"Hurricane Ian is here!"

The center of four out of five hurricanes hit the coast near the city of Cape Coral, the US hurricane center announced on Wednesday. It is, therefore, an "extremely dangerous hurricane."

Images from the television station MSNBC showed completely flooded streets with cars floating in the city of Naples on Florida's southwest coast. According to local AFP news agency journalists, the town of Punta Gorda, further north, was hit by heavy rains.

About 2.5 million people were ordered to leave southwest Florida before the 150 mph storm hit the coast in the afternoon. 

The first photos and videos on social media showed severe flooding in the cities of Fort Myers Beach, Cape Coral, and Naples, some of which were several meters high. In addition, around 800,000 homes in Florida are currently without power.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis prepared people for a horrid 48 hours: "It's going to be two ugly days." He urged that people in Ian's path along the coast should hurry to the safer shelter possible and stay there.

By the way, the hurricane itself is not rushing towards Florida. Instead, the storm field around him is the dangerous part. There are currently peak gusts of over 155 miles/h. These gusts hit the Florida coast almost unchecked.

"Ian" made landfall in Cuba on Tuesday as a category three of five hurricanes. In the province of Pinar del Río, which was particularly hard hit, two people died after their houses collapsed, the Cuban government said. In addition, the electricity failed nationwide in the state with a good eleven million inhabitants.

President Joe Biden emphasized that the federal government is ready to provide all possible help to authorities in Florida and the affected communities - before the storm, during it, and for the necessary reconstruction afterward. He also warned that the hurricane was life-threatening. Biden urged residents of the affected areas to follow the advice of local authorities.

The US hurricane center warned in advance of a life-threatening storm surge and hurricane gusts on the west coast of Florida.

The region expected to be affected by the storm has not experienced such a hurricane for around 100 years, warned Deanne Criswell of the American Disaster Management Agency Fema.