After entering the Florida Straits Monday night, tropical storm Elsa should move north-northwest today, to gradually move away from Cuba.
Dr. Miriam Teresita Llanes, head of the Forecasting Center at Cuba’s Institute of Meteorology, told Granma that cloud bands associated with the system will contribute to the probability of heavy and locally intense rains in the island’s western region, principally from Artemisa to Matanzas.
Party First Secretary and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, posted a tweet noting that the government response to the storm was reviewed in a meeting of the National Defense Council’s socio-economic authority, and that no major damage was reported between Cienfuegos and Guantánamo, adding, “We will recover from any that did occur.”
Elsa made landfall in Cuba around two o’clock Monday afternoon in the Cienaga de Zapata, on the southern coast of Matanzas, about 55 kilometers west of Playa Giron, passing through the western part of Matanzas, eastern Mayabeque, and into the sea, at a point near the border of this province with Havana.
The tropical storm produced heavy rainfall on Monday, with accumulated rainfall of up to 271 and 191.5 millimeters was recorded in the towns of El Jíbaro and Topes de Collantes, respectively, and 174 millimeters in Cuatro Vientos in Cienfuegos.
In the wake of tropical storm Elsa, taking into account the epidemiological situation in the country, authorities in People’s Councils will be organized to visit damaged homes to provide support in completing repairs, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security reported on its website.
(Taken from Granma)