After killing at least three people in the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Elsa is moving towards the central coast of Cuba.
Forecasters predicted that it may make landfall in this area by mid-afternoon.
Cuban authorities evacuated
180,000 people
on Sunday
as a precaution against the possibility of heavy flooding.
Most of the evacuees stayed with relatives, others went to government shelters, and hundreds who live in mountainous areas took refuge in caves prepared for emergencies.
Experts calculated that Elsa will traverse Cuba Monday night and then head to
Florida,
where Governor Ron DeSantis declared a
state of emergency
in 15 counties, including Miami-Dade, where the tragic collapse of a building in Surfside occurred.
In this state,
more than eight million people are at risk of heavy rains
and winds.
A man loads a truck with furniture to be relocated before the arrival of Storm Elsa, in Havana, Cuba, on July 4, 2021. REUTERS / Alexandre Meneghini
According to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), downtown Elsa was about 220 miles (355 kilometers) southeast of Havana and moving northwest at 14 miles per hour (23 kilometers per hour). ).
Its maximum sustained winds strengthened somewhat to 65 mph (100 kph).
The Cuban government issued a
hurricane warning
for the provinces of Cienfuegos and Matanzas and a hurricane watch for Camagüey.
[A "more active than normal" hurricane season: experts give their forecast for 2021]
The NHC noted that the storm was likely to gradually weaken as it passed through central Cuba and then
strengthen over the Straits of Florida and the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.
Probable path of tropical storm Elsa.NHC / NOAA
In addition, the NHC extended a
tropical storm watch on the west coast of Florida,
from Englewood to Aucilla Rivers.
And there is one in effect for the Florida Keys, from Craig Key west to the Ocean Reef.
The
rains Elsa
affect portions of the Florida Keys, Florida Peninsula and the coastal area of the south this week.
They expected in
2 to 4 inches of rain,
with maximum amounts of up to
6 inches along coastal areas of Florida and
Georgia,
from Monday to Wednesday, which will
result in flash floods.
In coastal areas of
South Carolina
between 1 to 3 inches of rain is expected, with isolated maximum amounts of up to 5 inches, Wednesday through Thursday.
Also, a few
tornadoes
are likely to form
across South Florida between Monday night and Tuesday.
Tropical Storm Elsa is expected to hit western Florida on Tuesday.
July 4, 202102: 38
As a Category 1 hurricane as of Saturday morning, Elsa caused widespread damage to several islands in the eastern Caribbean.
It was the first hurricane of the Atlantic season.
In Barbados, one of the hardest hit islands, more than 1,100 people reported damage to their homes, including 62 houses that collapsed.
Downed trees were also recorded in Haiti, which is especially vulnerable to flooding and landslides due to widespread erosion and deforestation.
Elsa is the fifth-earliest storm on record and has also broken the record for the fastest hurricane in the tropics,
with a speed of 31 mph on Saturday morning, said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami. .
With information from AP.