Hurricane “Ian” hits Cuba and heads to Florida with category 3 | international

The strong hurricane Ian, Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds of up to 200 kph and higher storms, crossed the island from south to north during the early hours of Tuesday at a point in the far western tip of the island, in Pinar de Rio province, causing Severe damage and floods. The hurricane made landfall at 4:30 am in the small town of La Coloma and went out to sea at 8 am via Puerto Esperanza, in the municipality of Vinales, where it is raining heavily at this time and the wind is very strong. strong. Its northern course directs it to the Florida coast, where maximum alert.

The hurricane’s wide eye, a quiet area around which the strongest winds are, passed through the city of Pinar de Rio around 6 a.m. Tuesday, and the apparent silence remained for just over an hour. Before and after came the horror depicted by Nelson Simon writer Pinar del Río this way: “We are in the dark. The noise and the gusts of the wind are infernal. The rain has stopped for a while. The wind is sustainable and increases in intensity from time to time. It is as if everything has shaken . . . …when the wind is strong, one closes his eyes and squeezes his eyelids as if to cling to what surrounds us.” A journalist from the city described it this way: “The wind is blowing outside, you can feel things flying. We don’t know what we’ll see when we’re out on the streets tomorrow.”

Although the departure Ian From Cuban territory, weather conditions will continue to deteriorate in the western provinces throughout the day, including the capital, where it rains in the morning and winds as strong as a tropical storm were recorded, with gusts that may exceed 118 kilometers per hour. It appears that fears that the hurricane could fully affect Havana, where many buildings and homes are in poor condition, are over. However, heavy rains and winds that hit the city at this time can cause landslides after the storm has passed, as has happened on other occasions. So far no deaths have been reported.

And in the affected areas, including the capital, electricity was cut off as a precaution, and thousands of people living in low-lying areas were evacuated to safety. In Pinar del Rio, more than 50,000 Cubans were taken to government centers or taken to the homes of family and friends.

It’s still too early to tell what damage it will leave Ian in Cuba. Authorities have not yet reported potential losses, but there are reports of damage to agriculture and some tobacco-harvesting areas such as San Juan and Martinez, in Pinar del Rio, where there was heavy flooding, as well as damage to homes. and state centers, many deciduous trees and electricity poles.

Hurricane-force winds will continue to affect Pinar del Rio until Tuesday afternoon, while tropical storm winds, far from the hurricane’s center, which will be between 70 and 85 kilometers per hour, will affect Artemisa, Mayapeque and La Havana, and the Isle of Youth continues until end of the morning. Throughout the incident in the country, educational activities have been canceled and public transportation suspended, and people have been asked not to leave their homes. There are no reports of deaths or injuries.

The Cuban Meteorological Institute has reported severe flooding in some areas of Pinar del Río, especially in Guanacapipes Bay, and moderate in other provinces such as Artemisa and Mayapeque. Hurricane warning remains throughout western Cuba. Ian It’s the fourth hurricane This hurricane season And the first to arrive in Cuban territory this year. In recent decades, devastating hurricanes have passed through Pinar del Río, as Gustav and the Such as.

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