Cuba declares its western region on “alert” due to the approach of Storm Ida

Havana, August 26 (EFE). – Ida, the ninth tropical storm of the current Atlantic hurricane season, will move in the next few hours over the seas to southern Cuba, so this Thursday the Civil Defense (DC) team established a “hurricane warning” stage for four areas in the western region.

The provinces of Havana, Mayapeque, Artemisa, Pinar del Río and the municipality of the special island of Juventud went to that stage with the continued intensification of Ida, which the Cuban authorities consider a “potential danger” to the regions. western part of the country.

Counties from the Sancti Spíritus power plant to Matanzas – located in the west – remain in the “information phase” released a few hours ago, while urging the rest to remain “attentive” to the evolution of this cyclonic organism that is being preserved. On probation.

In its latest report on this hurricane, the forecast center of the Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) predicted that rainy areas in the east will move to the central region as of the next morning, and from Friday it will affect the west where it can be strong. and intense.

The wind speed with the strength of a tropical storm can reach 65 kilometers per hour, and according to the meteorological report it will extend to the western region with vibrations of 70-85 kilometers per hour and higher storms, which will lead to the outbreak of storms on the southern coast of the island. de la Juventud. And on the southern coast from Pinar del Rio to Mayapeque, it can cause moderate flooding in the lowlands.

Since last July, Cuba has been on the path of hurricanes like Tropical Storm Elsa, Depression Fred – which hit regions from east to central Cuba with its rain without causing damage – and Hurricane Grace, which dumped rain on the west. part of the island without causing major damage.

The last time a major hurricane hit Cuba was in 2017, when Irma traveled the northern coast of the island from east to west, leaving 10 people dead and material losses.

The current Atlantic hurricane season – from June 1 to November 30 – is expected to be most active, with several hurricanes expected to spread across the region and an 85% probability for Cuba to hit one. .

So far this year, three hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic Basin, Henry, Grace and Elsa, and none have reached category 3 or more on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, out of a maximum of 5 hurricanes.

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