Havana evacuates about 50,000 people from Pinar del Rio
Hurricane Ian is approaching Cuba, and Florida is preparing for its arrival
The fishermen pulled their boats out of the water in case they would be swept away by the force of the expected waves.
AFP
Western Cuba is in a state of "alert" in anticipation of Hurricane Ian, which turned into a "very strong hurricane" on Tuesday, while the US state of Florida is preparing for its arrival as well.
And the US National Hurricane Center announced, the day before yesterday, that "Ian" is now a Category 3A "very strong hurricane", with winds of 185 kilometers per hour.
The center considers the hurricane to become "extremely strong", meaning a category (3, 4 and 5) on this scale when the accompanying winds reach 178 kilometers per hour.
In this case, the hurricane would cause “destructive” damage to homes and buildings, uprooting trees, and negatively affecting the distribution of water and electricity.
The center indicated that the hurricane will hit Cuba within hours.
Agence France-Presse journalists reported that rains accompanying the hurricane began to fall on western Cuba.
Since Monday, the Cuban Civil Defense has declared a state of alert in the six provinces in the west of the country: Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Havana, Mayapeque, Cienfuegos and the island of Jubentod, located 344 kilometers south of the capital.
The height of the waves ranged between five and seven meters.
The authorities evacuated about 50,000 people from Pinar del Rio.
In the capital of 2.1 million people, long queues formed to buy some food.
Havana fishermen pulled their boats out of the water and barricaded themselves in their homes, while some residents reinforced wooden houses.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote: “These remaining hours should be used before the situation gets worse.
Protecting the population is essential.”
The United Kingdom's Grand Cayman island has also been placed on alert.
big threat
And the US National Hurricane Center warned, "Ian" will reach over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico (Tuesday), and will approach the west coast of Florida (Wednesday and Thursday).
A state of emergency has been declared across Florida as authorities ramp up preparations.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned that Hurricane Ian would bring heavy rain, violent winds and flash floods along Florida's Gulf Coast.
Residents were asked to stockpile food, water, medicine and fuel, and power outages were expected.
Several cities in Florida, such as: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa, began distributing sandbags to residents to help them protect their homes in the event of floods.
Areas such as Hillersboro (west), where Tampa and Collier (southwest) are, have issued mandatory evacuation orders in the most vulnerable coastal areas.
US President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in 24 of the 67 regions allowed for federal aid to be allocated.
And the US space agency abandoned the launch of a rocket towards the moon, which was scheduled (Tuesday) from the Kennedy Space Center in this state in the southern United States.
After "Fiona"
In Honduras, more than 12,000 people were evacuated after rivers flooded due to heavy rains accompanying Hurricane Ian, according to what the Civil Defense announced the day before yesterday.
These rains are in addition to those that fell in recent weeks and caused floods that killed 13 people.
Ian comes after Hurricane Fiona, which last week swept the Caribbean, killing at least seven people, and Canada's Atlantic coast, where two people were killed.
Florida authorities are requiring residents to stockpile food, water, medicine and fuel, and anticipate blackouts.
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