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Authorities are attempting to evacuate around 110,000 people from high-risk areas in Granma due to the imminent arrival of the powerful hurricane Melissa.
According to local authorities, there are 98 identified critical areas, and it is necessary to protect 110,000 people, which represents 15% of the province's population.
Of this number, 66,000 will be evacuated to designated centers for this purpose, and the remainder will stay with family and friends.
Images shared by the local telecenter showed the makeshift means of evacuation, in some cases, cargo trucks, and the crowd of people waiting to be evacuated.
Evacuation in the East
Around 650,000 people will be evacuated in Eastern Cuba due to the approach of Hurricane Melissa.
A total of 258,573 people from the province of Santiago de Cuba, approximately 69,000 from Holguín, 139,914 from Guantánamo, 72,000 from Las Tunas, and about 110,000 from Granma will have to relocate from their homes and seek shelter in the homes of friends or family or in evacuation centers, reported the Presidency of Cuba in a thread on X.
The information was revealed during the virtual session of the expanded National Defense Council chaired by the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The presidents of the provincial Defense Councils reported that "efforts are being made to protect people and vital resources, to prepare evacuation centers and food production facilities, as well as to establish communication through various channels."
From Santiago de Cuba, authorities stated that emphasis has been placed on the municipality of Guamá, which was recently impacted by Storm Imelda, while the Protesta de Baraguá and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes reservoirs are being monitored.
In Granma, the situation is complex with swollen rivers, reservoir spillovers, and coastal flooding due to the nighttime high tide in the Gulf of Guacanayabo, which is obstructing the natural drainage of water.
A potentially catastrophic hurricane
The hurricane Melissa has intensified its strength,
This new figure -10 km/h higher than the previous report- confirms its status as a category 5 hurricane, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale, and presents an extremely high-risk scenario for Cuba, as well as for Jamaica, which will be its first stop in the Caribbean.
“Melissa is a category 5 hurricane […] It is expected to reach the southeast of Cuba as a very powerful hurricane,” warned the NHC.
The storm, currently located about 530 km southwest of Guantánamo, is slowly moving west at just 6 km/h, but a turn to the north is expected tonight that could bring its core directly over Jamaica and subsequently to eastern Cuba on Tuesday night.
Cuba: Active Warnings and Potential for Severe Impact
The bulletin includes a hurricane warning for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Holguín, indicating that hurricane conditions are expected in those areas within the next 36 hours.
In addition, Las Tunas is under a tropical storm warning, and other regions such as the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands are on alert.
"Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin in eastern Cuba on Tuesday. Hurricane conditions are anticipated to start in the hurricane warning area by Tuesday night."
Cuban authorities have been urged to expedite preparations to protect life and property, especially in coastal and mountainous areas, where the impact of the winds could be amplified.
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