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Hurricane Ian approaches Cuba, Florida prepares for its arrival

2022-09-27T02:05:21.402Z


Western Cuba is placed on “alert” awaiting the arrival late Monday September 26 or early Tuesday September 27 of Hurricane Ian, which should turn into a...


Western Cuba is placed on

“alert”

awaiting the arrival late Monday September 26 or early Tuesday September 27 of Hurricane Ian which should turn into a

“major hurricane”

, while in the United States, Florida prepares to be hit in turn.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the United States warned that Ian was intensifying and that

"conditions in western Cuba will deteriorate"

.

“Maximum sustained winds have increased to nearly 155 km/h with higher gusts.

Rapid strengthening is expected over the next 24 hours and Ian is expected to become a major hurricane this

(Monday)

evening or early Tuesday when it approaches the west coast of Cuba

,” the NHC warned in its latest bulletin.

The organization qualifies as “major” hurricanes those whose winds reach at least 178 km/h, that is to say categories 3, 4 and 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

It would then be likely to inflict

"devastating"

damage , damaging houses, uprooting trees and disrupting the distribution of water and electricity.

The rains accompanied by wind began to fall on the west of the Caribbean island, noted AFP.

The Cuban Civil Defense issued a "cyclonic alert" on Monday morning for the six westernmost provinces of the island: Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque, Cienfuegos and Isla de la Juventud, an island located 344 km south of the capital.

The waves reached between five and seven meters in height.

Authorities evacuated some 50,000 people in Pinar del Rio.

In the capital, where 2.1 million people live, long queues have formed to access certain foods.

Havana fishermen sheltered their boats before taking refuge in their homes, and residents reinforced their wooden houses.

Evacuation order

“We have examined compliance with the measures to deal with Hurricane Ian (…) It is urgent to take advantage of these hours before the situation becomes complicated.

The protection of the population is essential

,” tweeted President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

The largest island in the British Cayman Islands Territory, Grand Cayman, also issued a hurricane warning.

“Ian will then emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday (…) and approach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday and Thursday

,” the NHC warned.

A state of emergency has been declared across Florida and authorities are stepping up preparations.

Ian

"will cause heavy rain, high winds, flash flooding and storm surges, as well as isolated tornadoes along the Gulf Coast of Florida,"

Governor Ron DeSantis warned.

He asked residents to stock up on food, water, medicine and fuel as well as prepare for power cuts.

Several municipalities in Florida, such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Tampa, have started distributing sandbags to residents to help them protect their homes from the risk of flooding.

Hillsborough (west), where Tampa is located, and Collier (southwest) counties have issued mandatory evacuation orders for the most vulnerable coastal areas

.

"We didn't make this decision easily, but the storm poses a serious threat,"

County Administrator Bonnie Wise said at a press conference Monday.

US President Joe Biden has placed 24 of 67 counties in a state of emergency, allowing federal aid to be released.

NASA has given up the takeoff scheduled for Tuesday of its new mega-rocket for the Moon, from the Kennedy Space Center located in this southern state of the United States.

In Honduras, more than 12,000 people have been evacuated in the north of the country after the flooding of rivers caused by the rains associated with the passage of Ian, announced Monday the civil protection services.

The rains add to those of the past few weeks which have soaked the ground and led to flooding which has killed 13 people.

A state of emergency has been declared across the country for 90 days.

Ian follows Hurricane Fiona which ravaged the Caribbean last week, where at least seven people were killed, and the Atlantic coast of Canada (two dead).

The hurricane had already killed at least seven people last week, including four in Puerto Rico, two in the Dominican Republic and one in Guadeloupe (France).

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-09-27

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