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A Cuban mother confessed that she has no way of finding out about the danger of the hurricane Melissa, which is approaching the eastern part of Cuba as a powerful system now at category 4, with sustained winds of nearly 230 kilometers per hour.
In a video shared on the Facebook page of Martí Noticias, independent journalist Julio César Álvarez Marrero spoke with the woman, who plans to stay in her home during the cyclone's passage, as she is unaware of the magnitude of the phenomenon and has not received guidance from the authorities of the communist regime.
"I'm going to ride out the cyclone here at my house," said the mother, unaware of Melissa's current strength. "I have no way to keep informed," she added, highlighting the lack of communication tools, reliable information, and electronic devices to follow the weather alerts.
Disinformation and neglect in Eastern Cuba
Reporter Álvarez Marrero, who is documenting the situation from Holguín, reveals the isolation and misinformation that many residents of rural areas are experiencing in the face of the imminent arrival of the hurricane.
Prolonged blackouts, lack of mobile coverage, and the absence of radios or televisions prevent many families from knowing the path, intensity, or real dangers of the cyclone.
Melissa advances with catastrophic force
The hurricane Melissa emerged on the afternoon of Tuesday along the northern coast of western Jamaica and is heading towards eastern Cuba with sustained maximum winds of 230 km/h (145 mph), category 4 on the Saffir–Simpson scale.
At 5:00 PM EDT, according to the latest report from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the center of Melissa was located at 18.5°N, 77.7°W, about 20 km east of Montego Bay and 325 km southwest of Guantánamo, with a central pressure of 921 mb and moving northeast (25°) at 13 km/h.
The agency warned that damaging winds, catastrophic flash floods, and life-threatening storm surge continue in Jamaica as the evening approaches.
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