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Thousands of people in Florida have been told to leave their homes and stock up on food, water and essential supplies as 'Hurricane Ian' is gathering force.

The strong storm began to hit Cuba - a country in the Caribbean's south coast - on Monday night. The hurricane is expected to hit Florida's west coast on Wednesday.

Florida's governor has warned residents to brace for a potential "major disaster" and declared a state of emergency for all of Florida over the weekend.

He urged people to"remain calm" and has activated 5,000 military troops to help with relief efforts.

This storm is a category two hurricane - some parts of Florida have not seen one this strong in about 100 years.

The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Hurricane Ian could develop into a category three storm with wind speeds of 120mph or greater by the time it fully hits Cuba.

Thousands of people have been told to evacuate buildings in Cuba and western areas of Florida such as Tampa.

Emergency shelters have also been set up in parts of the Hillsborough County of Florida which includes Tampa.

Authorities in the Cayman Islands, a British territory, are working to provide sandbags, plywood and other supplies to help local residents protect their homes from flooding.

Hurricane Ian's predicted path

Along Florida's Tampa Bay coast, supermarkets shelves were quickly cleared of bottled water and there were long queues at fuel stations.

Officials say the area could receive its first direct hit from a hurricane since 1921 and that the storm could cause flooding along the coast.

Weather forecasters have said Cuba could see up to 25cm of rain from Hurricane Ian, while Jamaica and the Cayman islands could receive between 7-15.5cm of rain.

"It's never too early to prepare," Tampa's Mayor Jane Castor tweeted and added that they will "do everything in their power to keep residents safe".

How have other areas of the US been affected?

The White House has also declared an emergency, which will help officials co-ordinate disaster relief supplies and assistance.

They are also sending millions of meals and litres of water to Florida and the neighbouring state of Alabama.

President Joe Biden has rearranged a planned visit to Florida on Tuesday.

The launch of Nasa's most powerful ever rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida has also been delayed.

The Artemis 1 rocket was rolled off its launch pad and into shelter on Monday. This could delay the mission for weeks.