Florida this November 8 -

SIPA PRESS

She continues on her way.

After leaving nearly 200 dead or missing in Central America, tropical storm Eta hit Cuba on Sunday with strong winds and heavy rains, before reaching the Atlantic towards Florida where it should gain in intensity again.

No immediate casualties or damage were reported, but the island will still experience rains and swells.

The storm is moving at a speed of 19 km / h

At 9:00 a.m. (2:00 p.m. GMT), the storm "left the earth by the north coast near Chambas", in the central province of Ciego de Avila, a territory that it crossed from South to North from 04:30 (09:30 GMT) , according to the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (Insmet).

The Institute reported winds of up to 95 km / h, with stronger gusts.

The storm, which is moving at a speed of 19 km / h towards the north / northeast, swept through tourist spots in the Jardines del Rey archipelago, but according to state television, the 600 foreign tourists who s 'found there had been sheltered.

Heavy rains were reported in the eastern part of Cuba, where civil defense and local authorities had evacuated thousands of people to safe areas for fear of flooding, as the soils were already waterlogged and the reservoirs full.

Heavy rains

According to forecasters, Eta is on his way to the Keys and the Florida peninsula and is expected to "strengthen further after passing through the Atlantic Ocean."

"It is expected that the intensity will be close to that of a hurricane when it passes over the Florida Keys," writes Insmet.

In its path, the storm is expected to cause heavy rains over the western half of Cuba, with the risk of marine submersion as well.

Florida Governor Ron De Santis declared a state of emergency in southern counties on Saturday.

Schools will be closed in the Southern Keys on Monday, Covid-19 test sites have been temporarily closed and authorities have opened shelters and started distributing sandbags so people can protect their homes from flooding.

Eta, which made landfall on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua on Tuesday in a powerful category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 km / h, gradually weakened as it passed Nicaragua and Honduras.

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