Ian should make landfall in a few hours. This Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center of the United States (National Hurricane Center, NHC), reinforced Ian in category 3.
“Ian is becoming a major hurricane,” according to the NHC, adding that wind speeds have reached 185 kilometers per hour and it will soon make landfall in western Cuba.
The organization classifies as “major” hurricanes those whose winds reach at least 178 km / h, or categories 3, 4 and 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It would then be likely to inflict “devastating” damage, damaging homes, uprooting trees, and disrupting water and electricity distribution.
Cuba on high alert
While the rains accompanied by wind began to fall on western Cuba, the local civil defense issued a “cyclonic alert” on Monday morning. These are the six westernmost provinces of the island: Pinar del Río, 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 high. In addition, the authorities evacuated some 50,000 people in Pinar del Río.
In the capital, where 2.1 million people live, long queues have formed to access certain foods. The Havana fishermen protected their boats before taking refuge in their homes, and the residents reinforced their wooden houses.
“We have reviewed compliance with the measures to deal with Hurricane Ian (…) It is urgent to take advantage of these hours before the situation gets complicated. The protection of the population is essential,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel tweeted.
The largest island in the British Territory of the Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman, has also issued a hurricane warning.
“serious threat”
“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 throughout Florida and authorities are stepping up preparations.
Ian “will cause heavy rains, high winds, flash flooding and storm surge, as well as isolated tornadoes along Florida’s Gulf Coast,” Governor Ron DeSantis warned.
He asked residents to stock up on food, water, medicine and fuel, as well as prepare for power outages.
Several Florida municipalities, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, have begun distributing sandbags to residents to help protect their homes from flood risk.
US President Joe Biden has placed 24 of 67 counties in a state of emergency, allowing federal aid to be released. NASA has completed the takeoff scheduled for this Tuesday of its new megarocket to the Moon, from the Kennedy Space Center located in this southern state of the United States.
after fiona
In Honduras, more than 12,000 people have been evacuated in the north of the country after the overflow of rivers caused by the rains associated with Ian’s passage, civil protection services announced Monday.
The rains add to those of recent weeks that have soaked the ground and caused floods that have killed 13 people. A state of emergency has been declared throughout the country for 90 days.
Ian follows Hurricane Fiona which hit the Caribbean last week, killing at least seven people, and Canada’s Atlantic coast (two dead). The hurricane had already killed at least seven people in the past week, including four in Puerto Rico, two in the Dominican Republic and one in Guadeloupe.
Source: BFM TV
