Havana, 27 oct (ACN) The National General Staff of Civil Defense decreed today at 09:00 hours the Cyclone Alarm Phase for the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma, Las Tunas and Camagüey, before the imminent impact of hurricane Melissa, the official note No.3 of the institution itself.
According to the Forecasting Center of the Institute of Meteorology, Melissa increased its intensity to reach sustained maximum winds of 260 kilometers per hour, with superior bursts and central pressure of 917 hectopascal, which made it a category five hurricane on the Saffir-scaleSimpson.
The cyclonic organism moved near west at six kilometres per hour and is expected to turn north and northeast in the next 24 hours, transiting the seas of Jamaica and approaching south of eastern Cuba.
The Civil Defence set up the Cyclone Alert Phase for Ciego de Ávila and Sancti Spíritus, while in Cienfuegos, Villa Clara, Matanzas, Mayabeque, Havana, Artemisa, Pinar del Río and the Isla de la Juventud Special Municipality it was directed to activate the councils of defense in reduced composition.
The authorities urged the population to keep informed through national media and official profiles on social networks, and to comply with the instructions of the Civil Defence and local government bodies.
The National Civil Defence Staff, together with the Institute of Meteorology and the National Institute of Water Resources, keeps a constant watch on the evolution of Hurricane Melissa.
Civil Defense in Cuba declares cyclone alert in eastern provinces
