Hurricane Ian has been churning across Cuba as a category three storm with wind speeds of up to 205km/h (125mph).

Hundreds of thousands of residents in the west of the island were left without power because of storm damage.

Forecasters have warned of the risk of storm surges, flash floods and mudslides. 

As of  Tuesday, the centre of the storm was located about 15km north-east of the city of Pinar del Rio in Cuba, moving north at nearly 19km/h, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports.

It said Cuba could see up to 30cm  of rain from Hurricane Ian. Some 38,000 people were evacuated in the province of Pinar del Rio.

Cuban authorities declared emergencies in six areas, with forecasters warning of storm surges on the coast, along with flash floods and mudslides.

Hurricane conditions are expected along the west coast of Florida on Wednesday.

The governor declared a state of emergency for all of Florida over the weekend and has activated 5,000 National Guard troops to assist with relief efforts.