Cuban Special Municipality already feels winds associated with hurricane Ian

NUEVA GERONA, Cuba, Sep 26 (ACN) The gusts of winds associated with Ian - the fourth hurricane of the current Atlantic cyclonic season - are already perceptible in Isle of Youth, a tropical phenomenon that is approaching the territory over very warm waters, a favorable condition for its strengthening.

Meteorologist Edgardo Soler, from the Forecasting Center of the territorial delegation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, told the Cuban News Agency that since the end of this morning, clouds will increase with showers and rains that may be heavy and intense in some localities of the special municipality.

As of the end of the afternoon, storm surges will begin along the entire southern coast of the archipelago of Los Canarreos, and tropical storm winds will be felt that could become hurricanes in the early hours of the night, which would cause wave formation trains of 5 to 7 meters in height in their translation at 22 kilometers per hour towards the northwest.

Due to the hydrometeorological situation, the 14 dams are being monitored, currently at 81 % of their total filling capacity, of which five are relieving their waters and two have reached 100 % storage.

The tropical phenomenon is expected to hit Cayo Largo del Sur, whose flat topography could be penetrated by the sea, as well as the port of Batabano, in the province of Mayabeque, and the riverside community of Cocodrilo, whose residents will be protected in municipal evacuation centers.

At the closing of this information, the Cyclonic Alert Phase had been decreed for the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and this special municipality, and the Information Phase for the provinces of Sancti Spiritus and Ciego de Avila(central Cuba), a phase in which the province of Villa Clara remains.