Travelers from Florida arrive at Philadelphia International Airport ahead of Hurricane Ian
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Hurricane Ian slammed into Western Cuba early Tuesday morning, forcing evacuations, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of people, and swamping fishing villages. It hit as a category 3 storm with 125-mile-per-hour winds.
CBS3 was at Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday, where we talked to some people arriving from Florida who had been visiting the Sunshine State and decided to cut their vacations short.
Other travelers who live in Florida tell CBS3 they'll be staying with family in our area until the storm passes.
Susan Olds is from Clearwater Beach. She's staying with her sister in the Poconos for now, but when she returns to Florida, she worries what she might come home to.
"I live in a condo building and a lot of people are staying, which I think is crazy because the storm surge is suppose to be pretty high and the winds are supposed to be pretty bad, so we'll what happens to them," Olds said. "If it hits Pinellas County, this is the first one since 1921 to actually hit our county. We have had other ones like Irma and Charlie that we had effects from like rain and wind and all that. This is the first one that is supposed to directly hit us at Clearwater Beach, actually."
Florida's governor has declared a state of emergency, but time is running out to evacuate.
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport had its last flight depart around 11 a.m. Tampa International Airport will stop commercial flights at 5 p.m. Tuesday.