The stage of tropical storm warning was established for eastern Guantánamo province on Friday in view of the immediacy of the passage of Hurricane Tomas, according to Information Note Number 3 by the Civil Defense General Staff. At noon, this meteorological phenomenon was located at latitude 19.4 North and 74.3 longitude West, 100 kilometers south of Punta de Maisí.

Also in the stage of tropical storm warning and getting ready to protect themselves from the impact of Hurricane Tomas, are residents in the municipalities of Moa, Frank País, Sagua de Tánamo, Mayarí, Antilla and Gibara located east of Holguín province.

Santiago de Cuba and the municipalities of Banes and Rafael Freyre in Holguín remain in hurricane watch, while the eastern provinces of Granma and Las Tunas are in information stage.

Today, the program Haciendo Radio, broadcast a news summary on the territories in the stages of hurricane warning and hurricane watch, by way of which the readiness of the Civil Defense forces, the population and the Popular Defense Councils in those territories was evidenced –all of them prepared to face the contingency caused by the proximity of Hurricane Tomas.

In Baracoa the passage of Tomas is increasingly visible, after constant rains that caused pluviometers to register some 11.9 millimeters until 6:00 a.m. Friday.

Hydro-meteorological monitoring activities of these regions are being carried out, particularly with respect to the current situation of reservoirs, and measures to be adopted in view of the possible impact of heavy rains, winds and storm surge flooding in the mountainous and coastal areas considered as high-risk regions are specified.

Radio Rebelde correspondent in Santiago de Cuba, Carlos Sanabia, told this radio station that evacuation plans have been fully activated, and that resources and means available to face the severe meteorological phenomenon have been strengthened, while, in Holguín, Municipal Defense Councils closer to coastal areas in the stage of hurricane warning have been activated, in order to protect their most vulnerable populations.

In the early morning, tropical storm Tomas had maximum sustained winds of 130 Km/hr and its minimum central pressure was of 984 hPa. It’s now a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

According to the Meteorology Institute, at 6:00 a.m., the radar at the Gran Piedra located the center of Hurricane Tomas on latitude 18.4 North and longitude 74.7 West, a position that placed it near Cape Tiburon, Haiti, about 217 kilometers south-southwest of Punta de Maisí, on easternmost tip of the island.

Translated by Daysi Olano

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