Tropical storm Idalia in Cuba LIVE | Last minute of his career, news and more

The western end of Cuba wait this Monday on alert for the passage of the tropical storm idalia, predictably already as a hurricane, with the fresh memory of the devastation caused by Cyclone Ian a year ago. The center of Idalia is located in the Caribbean Sea, between the Mexican province of Yucatan and the westernmost tip of Cuba, advancing at about 13 kilometers per hour in a northerly direction, heading north towards Florida (United States), according to the latest reports from the Institute of Meteorology (INSMET).

FOLLOW LIVE THE PATH OF TROPICAL STORM IDALIA:

The phenomenon is expected to cause heavy and intense rains in the western third of the country, which could generate rapid flooding, and that the winds – so far sustained at up to 75 kilometers per hour – raise strong storm surges that inundate low-lying coastal areas.

LOOK: Follow LIVE the trajectory of Tropical Storm Idalia that hits Cuba on its way to Florida

The local authorities work to minimize the possible material and human damage that Idalia may cause, which according to the Insmet It will affect the provinces of Pinar del Río, Artemisa and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, where a cyclone alert has already been declared.

“We stay in constant communication with the territories. Our people must remain attentive to official information and comply with the indications of the Civil Defense and local authorities,” said the head of the Government, Manuel Marrero, this Monday on the X social network (formerly Twitter).

FLOODS

Western Cuba has experienced moderate to intense rain since Sunday afternoon. This has also been noted, although to a lesser extent, in Havana, the capital and most populous city.

The forecast is for the rainfall to intensify throughout the afternoon and there are fears of flooding in urban areas that this could cause in the coming hours.

According to the Insmet, gusts of up to 65 kilometers per hour have been registered at the Casablanca weather station (Havana province), and 50 kilometers per hour in Pinar del Río and on the Isla de la Juventud.

The winds in the center of Idalia already exceed 100 kilometers per hour. It is expected that in the extreme west of Cuba the 75 kilometers per hour will be reached.

The last cyclone warning, at noon this Monday, assured that “there will be storm surges on the southern coast of the western region that will become strong in the south of Pinar del Río and Isla de la Juventud with light to moderate coastal flooding.” .

As a preventive measure, the provincial authorities suspended the departure of passenger trains until further notice. Maritime traffic to the Isla de la Juventud has also been interrupted for security reasons.

So far, some 8,000 people have been rehoused. The last to be evacuated were the residents of the Bailén and Boca de Galafre regions (Pinar del Río).

Similarly, some 537 tons of tobacco have been protected and another 45 collected in warehouses in the Pinar del Río municipality of Minas de Matahambre, according to the Municipal Assembly.

THE MEMORY OF IAN

Idalia brings bitter memories to the island, a little less than a year after the scourge of Hurricane Ian, which with category three crossed the province of Pinar del Río from south to north at the end of September 2022.

Ian caused the death of at least five people and left considerable material damage in more than 100,000 houses, many of which still have not been repaired, according to official figures.

It also damaged the supply of drinking water, seriously affected agriculture, especially in the cultivation of tobacco -the star agricultural product of Pinar del Río- and led to the total collapse of the National Electric System, causing a general blackout on the island from which it took days to come out.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.