The National Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) confirmed this Friday that the ninth tropical depression of this cyclonic season already has the category of tropical storm. The name that has been assigned to this phenomenon has been Ian, and in the last few hours he has consolidated his organization and gained in intensity.
Ian is heading west-northwest, towards the west of the Island, with a displacement speed of 19 kilometers per hour, maximum winds of 65 kilometers per hour, higher gusts and a central pressure of 1,005 hectoPascal.
During Friday night, the center of the hurricane was located at 14.8º north and 72º west, that is, 635 kilometers from Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, and 1,095 east-southeast of the island of Cayman Grande.
Ian is expected to maintain its course and speed during the morning of this Saturday, and that on Sunday night it will possibly acquire the category of a hurricane.
The 2022 hurricane season has been classified as “very active” with a forecast of 17 cyclones
Civil Defense agencies issued a note warning of the imminence of the cyclone and the danger it poses to the western region of the country. However, they limited themselves to recommending cleaning up areas at risk and “staying informed through the media and social networks.”
Not even Ian is a sufficient reason, in the Government’s opinion, to risk or postpone the development of the Family Code referendum on September 25, the date on which the cyclone will be close to the western region.
However, several events scheduled to start this weekend have announced their postponement, such as the Coven Humor Festival and the first round of Local Entrepreneurship Businesses for Tourism.
The Insmet plans to offer the population a new notice during noon this Saturday.
The 2022 hurricane season has been classified as “very active”, according to Efe, with a forecast of 17 cyclones, of which 9 have come close to reaching the category of hurricane.
At the beginning of last June, a heavy rainstorm associated with Cyclone Alex hit the central and western regions of the island with an official toll of four deaths, power outages, damage to 750 homes (21 total landslides), mainly of Havana, and 3,200 hectares of cultivation.
The last time a large hurricane affected Cuba was in 2017, when Irma crossed the north coast of the island from east to west, leaving 10 dead and material losses officially valued at 13,185 million dollars.
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