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The Provincial Defense Council in Guantánamo has announced that circulation in the city will be prohibited starting at six in the evening this Tuesday, as a preventive measure against the imminent arrival of Hurricane Melissa to eastern Cuba.
The decision was announced in a publication by the official newspaper Periódico Venceremos on its Facebook page, where the authorities explained that the measure aims to protect the population and prevent accidents during the heavy rains and gusts of wind associated with the powerful cyclone.
"The Provincial Defense Council in Guantánamo announces that circulation in the city is prohibited starting at six P.M., as a preventive measure against Hurricane Melissa," the state media reported.
The announcement comes just a few hours before the expected impact of Hurricane Melissa, currently a Category 5 storm, approaching the eastern region of the country with sustained winds of up to 295 km/h and torrential rains, according to the latest report from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States.
Since the morning, the Guantanamo territory has been under cyclone alert conditions. Families in vulnerable areas have been evacuated, especially in Caimanera, Imías, and Baracoa, in anticipation of storm surges and coastal flooding.
The evacuation centers have already begun receiving hundreds of people, according to reports from local media.
Additionally, power service outages have been reported in several municipalities of the province.
The National Hurricane Center maintains its forecast for a direct impact on eastern Cuba during the early hours of Wednesday. The eye of the hurricane is expected to enter the area between Uvero and Chivirico, in Santiago de Cuba, and severely affect the coastal municipalities of Guantánamo.
The NHC warns of possible destructive winds, storm surges, and heavy rains that could exceed 300 millimeters in some areas, with a high risk of flooding and landslides in mountainous regions.
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