RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Cuba’s Civil Defense (CD) raised from “alert” to “alarm” the situation in the western provinces of Havana and Mayabeque, given the proximity of tropical storm Elsa, which in the next hours will cross from south to north the central-western territory of the Caribbean country.
The center of Elsa was located today at 9 AM local time (13:00 GMT), about 80 kilometers south of Playa Girón, in the western province of Matanzas, according to the latest bulletin of the Institute of Meteorology (Insmet).
The cyclone is advancing at a speed of 22 kilometers per hour, and according to the forecast, it is possible that it will slightly increase its intensity before making landfall in Cuba, afternoon today, by the Zapata Swamp, on the southern coast of Matanzas, a province located about 100 kilometers from the capital.
Elsa is expected to leave Cuba tonight at an unspecified point between Matanzas, a province with 690,000 inhabitants, and Havana, with 2.2 million.
Elsa, which is now accompanied by sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour and abundant rainfall, should weaken as it enters the island’s territory, according to Insmet forecasts.
Due to its proximity to Cuba, the DC also decided to establish the alert phase for the province of Artemisa, located in its westernmost area.
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In the central and western regions, winds will be felt with tropical storm force, with speeds between 60 and 75 kilometers per hour and higher gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour, while rains are already affecting the center and will spread to the west with the advance of the system.
Several thousand people living in areas at risk of flooding or whose homes are not safe to have been evacuated to state centers set up for these contingencies or have taken shelter in the homes of family and friends.
The DC authorities have asked the population to keep informed through the media or official social network accounts and comply with the agency’s measures and indications.
This storm, which during its transit through the Lesser Antilles, became the first hurricane of the current Atlantic cyclone season, has been turning northwest.
Elsa passed Sunday (4) near the southern coasts of the eastern provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, and Granma, where so far only damage to agriculture and electricity service has been reported, according to preliminary data released by state media.
The current cyclone season in the Atlantic Ocean -from June 1 to November 30- is expected to be more active, with a forecast of several hurricanes circulating in the region and an 85% probability for Cuba to be hit by one of them.
The last time a major hurricane hit Cuba was in 2017 when Irma swept along the island’s northern coast from east to west, leaving 10 dead and material losses quantified at US$13.2 billion in housing, infrastructure, and in the agricultural and livestock sectors, according to official data.