GAINESVILLE , United States, Aug 29, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Residents along 
Florida's west coast were under orders to evacuate Tuesday ahead of Hurricane 
Idalia's arrival, as forecasters said the storm was strengthening over an 
exceptionally warm Gulf of Mexico and would likely become "extremely 
dangerous" before landfall.

Idalia, which the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said had become a 
Category 1 hurricane overnight, was churning Tuesday morning hundreds of 
miles off Florida's southwest, and bringing tropical storm conditions to 
western Cuba.

Warm Gulf waters near 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) are expected 
to turbocharge Idalia into an "extremely dangerous major hurricane before 
landfall on Wednesday," the NHC said.

Major hurricanes are usually a Category 3 or higher on the five-level Saffir-
Simpson scale -- storms that the NHC says can cause "devastating" and 
"catastrophic" damage.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged those in the evacuation areas along the 
Gulf coast to go "now."

"You don't have to go hundreds of miles," he told a news conference, urging 
coastal residents in the 23 counties under evacuation orders so far to get to 
shelters or hotels that were out of the danger zones.

"This is going to be a major hurricane, likely a Category 3," he continued.

More than 100 people were killed last year when Hurricane Ian slammed 
Florida's west coast as a devastating Category 4 storm, bringing storm surges 
and heavy winds that downed bridges, swept away buildings, and caused over 
$100 billion worth of damage.

Idalia is expected to make impact farther north along the coast, an area 
DeSantis said Tuesday "hasn't had a major hurricane in a long time."

"It is a lot of woods and forest and you will see a lot of debris," the 
governor, who has suspended his campaign for president to handle the crisis, 
told Fox News.

US President Joe Biden spoke with DeSantis on Monday and approved an 
emergency declaration for the state, promising it would have his full 
support, a White House spokesman said.

The Tampa International Airport has closed for the storm while the nearby US 
Air Force base has ordered a mandatory evacuation of "non-mission essential 
individuals and dependents."

Georgia and South Carolina are also under storm watches as the system is 
expected to cross northeast over Florida before exiting into the Atlantic.

Flash and urban flooding may hit parts of Florida and southern Georgia into 
Wednesday, the NHC said. Flooding could reach parts of South Carolina 
Wednesday into Thursday.

The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is preparing for the 
storm's impact, including by deploying some of its staff, according to the 
White House.

Cuban authorities declared a hurricane alert for the provinces of Pinar del 
Rio and Artemisa as well as Isla de la Juventud, an island.

Thousands of Cubans evacuated or fled ahead of the storm, authorities and 
state media said.

After passing Cuba the storm moved out over the Gulf, which scientists say is 
experiencing a "marine heat wave" -- energizing Idalia's winds as it races 
towards Florida.

Cuban state media said about 8,000 people had left their homes to seek 
shelter with family or friends in Pinar del Rio, the same province walloped 
last September by Hurricane Ian, which killed at least two people and left 
millions without electricity.

On Monday, Idalia dumped rain on Mexico's state of Quintana Roo, home to 
Cancun and other coastal tourist resorts, putting a damper on one of the last 
weekends of summer vacation.

Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world 
gets warmer due to climate change.