Tropical Storm Elsa is pouring heavy rains over the communities of the Zapata Swamp where it made landfall earlier on Monday.

A special advisory by the Cuban Weather Institute says a through expands at medium and high atmospheric layers, between 5 and 12 kilometers, which is linked to low over South Florida, the USA.

In the midst of the scourge of tropical storm Elsa in much of Cuba, the Institute of Meteorology highlighted in its weather forecast for Tuesday that the rains will be heavy and intense in the center of the country.

Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall in Cuba, south of Matanzas, and the National Civil Defense General Staff decided to declare the Cyclonic Alarm Phase for the province of Artemisa as of 2:00 pm.

During the last hours, the clouds and rains of tropical storm Elsa have affected the central region, which have become strong and intense in some localities, with the highest accumulated today in the province of Sancti Spiritus.

Following the passage of tropical storm Elsa through Cuba's easternmost territory, the National Civil Defense General Staff decided to return the provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguin, Las Tunas, Camagüey and Ciego de Avila to normal as of 11:00 a.m. today.

Only two hydrometeorological phenomena impacted Havana from 1791 to 2019 in July, so the presence of tropical storm Elsa is one of the most unusual cases of the seasoned hydrometeorology in Cuba.

The Forecast Center of the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (INSMET), reported this morning that the center of tropical storm Elsa, was estimated at 21.4 degrees north latitude and 80.9 degrees west longitude, about 80 kilometers south of Playa Giron, Matanzas province.

Significant damages caused by the rains and winds associated with tropical storm Elsa have not been reported so far in the central and eastern provinces, informed today, in Havana, Lieutenant Colonel Gloria Gely Martinez, head of the Department of Disaster Reduction of the National Civil Defense General Staff (EMNDC by its Spanish acronym).

Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla regretted today on Twitter the death of Cuba's friend and president of the Alianza Martiana, Rosa Reyes Garmendia, who contributed to the development of ties between the United States and the island.

Given the current course of tropical storm Elsa, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez wrote today on Twitter that "avoiding human and material loss is the motto".

The evacuation of residents of vulnerable communities, at high risk of floods and landslides, is a major task for the members of the Provincial Defense Council bent on minimizing tropical storm Elsa’s possible impact.

The nine cetaceans living in the Cienfuegos Dolphinarium are well protected from the tropical storm Elsa’s possible effects if it makes landfall on this region Monday.

Health district offices in this city remain on the alert, especially in the coastal communities, even if the province of Santiago de Cuba is hardly threatened by tropical storm Elsa.

For the last three days, farmers and stockbreeders in the province of Cienfuegos have strived to minimize damages caused by tropical storm Elsa.