The powerful hurricane “Ian” crossed western Cuba since early Tuesday morning, leaving a trail of damage, with trees and power lines downed and roofs ripped off, although for the moment there are no reports of victims.
“Ian”, which was beginning to enter the Atlantic towards Florida, made landfall in the town of La Coloma, on the southern coast of the province of Pinar del Río, with category three on the Saffir-Simpson scale of five and winds of more than 200 km/h.
“Desolation and destruction. We live hours of terror. Nothing is left here,” said a 70-year-old man, a resident of the city of Pinar del Río, to his son, a local television journalist, who spread it on social networks. .
At 09:00, 13:00 (GMT), the center of the cyclone was “on the north coast of Pinar del Río, near Puerto Esperanza,” reported the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (Insmet).
In the next few hours “it will keep heading north, gradually moving over the southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, moving its center away from Cuban territory,” added Insmet.
Until dawn, some 40,000 people had been evacuated in Pinar del Río, where the authority plans to relocate some 50,000 to shelters or houses of relatives or friends, reported the first secretary of the ruling Communist Party in the province, Yamilé Ramos.
Both Pinar del Río and neighboring Artemisa were left without electricity, both populations were preventively evacuated, in addition to the fact that 315 damaged circuits were recorded in that area of the country, detailed a senior official in the sector.
Previously, the National Hurricane Center of the United States reported the strengthening of Ian as a category 3 hurricane, it indicated this Tuesday in a bulletin.
“Ian” becomes a major hurricane,” the NHC said, adding that the storm is registering winds of 185 kilometers per hour and is expected to make landfall “soon” in western Cuba.
Affectations in Mexico
The general coordinator of the National Meteorological Service (SMN), Alejandra Méndez Girón, explained this Monday afternoon during a videoconference that due to the proximity between the island and the Yucatan Peninsula, rains, waves and winds are expected. He warned that Ian is expected to intensify to category 4 and head towards Florida, United States of America.
During a videoconference together with representatives of the National Water Commission (Conagua) and the Secretary of the Navy, the official announced that the wide cloud bands of the hurricane “Ian” will cause very strong punctual rains in Quintana Roo and Yucatan, as well as rains strong in Campeche, which could cause landslides and floods in low-lying areas.
Winds of 60 to 80 km/h and waves of two to four meters in height are expected, as well as a storm surge of two to three meters on the coasts of Quintana Roo and northeastern Yucatan.
