SLP, Mexico.- The authorities Cuban authorities began the evacuation of tens of thousands of Cubans due to the approach of tropical storm Rafael, which could reach Cuba as a category two hurricane.
In the province of Guantanamorecently impacted by Hurricane Oscar, evacuated more than 42,051 people this Monday, in state centers and the homes of relatives, neighbors and friends, due to the threat of intense rains, according to local media. we will win.
3,170 evacuees were welcomed in educational centers and other institutions and another 38,881 people are protected in “solidarity houses.”
In Santiago de Cuba, According to Manuel Falcón, vice president of the Defense Council, the population living in risk areas has been moved to high places, safe houses or designated evacuation centers.
In that province, more than 31,000 people have been taken to safe places. 18 homeless people have been taken to safe places, 32 nephrotic people in healthcare centers and more than 45 full-term pregnant women, according to regime authorities.
Santiago de Cuba has more than 241 settlements that are isolated by the rains, 30 under reservoirs with more than 3,000 inhabitants and more than 34 areas at risk of landslides.
On the other hand, in HolguinAccording to Maité Pupo Romero, head of the Population Protection Commission, they have taken more than 1,600 people to five evacuation centers in the Moa, Mayarí and Cueto territories, as well as to the homes of family and friends.
Moa, affected by the rains caused by the Oscar hydrometeorological event, has towns in dangerous areas due to proximity to the dams, such as the town of La Veguita and the Pedro Soto Alba popular council.
Some 191 residents of the Granma municipality of Cauto Cristo, at risk of the river of the same name rising, were located in the Cañada Honda Pioneer Camp, located in Calixto García and in relatives’ homes in the popular councils of Mir and Monte Alto.
In the city of Matanzas They have already installed some 22 residents of the La Marina neighborhood in the René Fraga Moreno Pedagogical School, one of the evacuation centers.
Later, other inhabitants of the El Cocal, Canímar and Versalles neighborhoods will arrive.
In Artemisa they also protect those residents who live in coastal areas with risk of flooding.
#ArtemisaJuntosSomosMás In Ariguanabo no one will be left helpless.
More than 400 people will be evacuated to schools.
1,500 residents will evacuate to the homes of family and friends.#PreparedAndAlerts #TTRafael #CyclonicSeason2024 pic.twitter.com/OLgFnMsqfD— Artemisa Newspaper (@DiarioArtemisa) November 5, 2024
In this way, they evacuated residents in the coastal settlement of Playa Guanímar, the most vulnerable point in the municipality of Alquízar.
In Ariguanabo, more than 400 people will be evacuated in schools and another 1,500 in the homes of family and friends.
The official media Cubadebate reported that they will transport tourists and workers from the Cayo Largo del Sur tourist center by air to take them to safety in another region of Cuba.
On the Isle of Youth, the authorities insisted that there are beds available in the maternity homes and in the Héroes del Baire hospital, in Nueva Gerona, to accommodate full-term pregnant women, vulnerable elderly people and patients who need it due to their pathologies. A large group of Cubans from that area also take shelter to protect their lives.
In Sancti Spiritusofficials announced that 2,046 people will be protected; of them, 697 in the homes of families and friends and 1,349 in evacuation centers, specifically in the Vocational Institute of Exact Sciences, which will welcome residents in El Médano.
The inhabitants of Tunas de Zaza will be housed at the University of Sancti Spíritus José Martí and at the Rafael María de Mendive Pedagogical School.
Rafael threatens Cuba
At 6:00 pm. On Tuesday, the tropical storm was located at 19.5 degrees North latitude and 79.9 degrees West longitude, a position that places it in the vicinity of the Cayman Islands and 360 kilometers southeast of Punta del Este, Isla de la Juventud.
This phenomenon has continued during the last few hours with a direction close to the northwest and has gradually increased its translational speed to 24 kilometers per hour.
Meteorologist José Rubiera urged the Cuban population to pay special attention to the development of the tropical storm Raphael in the next few hours because it could have consequences if it enters Cuban territory as a category two hurricane.
In a report On his YouTube channel, the Cuban meteorologist warned that the feeding bands that are forming are “well consistent” and that Rafael is gaining structure quickly. This could intensify when the phenomenon enters the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.
The temperatures of the Caribbean Sea, the excess humidity at low levels and the presence of weak winds in the upper atmosphere, can influence a rapid intensification of Rafael.
