Tropical Storm Ian Threatens Cuba and Florida, U.S.

Tropical Storm Ian threatens to hit with hurricane force Cuban territory and the state of Florida, United States (U.S.), so the authorities of both nations began to take precautionary measures.

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According to meteorologists' forecasts, the cyclone, which would reach category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale (out of a maximum of five) could hit the western sector of Cuba next Tuesday, while it would reach Florida the following Thursday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (CNH) reported that, at 06:00 GMT this Sunday, the center of the storm, which would also cause effects in Jamaica and the Caribbean coast of Mexico, was located 1,060 kilometers southeast of the western tip of Cuba.

Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya tweets, "Cuba prepares and adopts all measures due to the proximity of #Ian Tropical Depression that can become a Hurricane and affect the Western provinces of the country. Preserving human lives is the main task."

At that time, Ian had maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour and was moving westward at 20 kilometers per hour, although it will turn northwestward in the next few hours.

Cuban authorities issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Río and Artemisa, and declared a tropical storm watch for the provinces of Havana, Mayabeque and Matanzas.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on his Twitter account: "We checked the meteorological situation before the imminent passage of storm Ian, which should become a hurricane in the next few hours. Isla de la Juventud, western and central provinces will be the most impacted. The main thing is the preservation of life".

On the other hand, the government of U.S. President Joe Biden informed on Saturday that it declared a state of emergency in Florida in view of the expected arrival of the cyclone to that territory in the middle of next week.

In this way, it is planned to send federal funds to Florida to face the meteorological phenomenon.