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Anna Burns-Francis: US correspondent as Hurricane Ian hits Florida
Hurricane Ian's most damaging winds have begun hitting Florida's southwest coast, lashing the state with heavy rain and pushing a devastating storm surge after strengthening to the threshold of the most dangerous Category 5 status.
Fueled by warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Ian grew to a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane overnight with top winds of 250km/h, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm trudged on a track that would have it making landfall north of the heavily populated Fort Myers area, which forecasters said could be inundated by a storm surge of up to 5.5m.
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