Hurricane alert announced for Cuba's eastern and central provinces

According to the Forecast Center at Cuba's Meteorology Institute, Irma continues as a category 5 hurricane, following a west-northwest path at a pace of 26 kilometers per hour. It is expected that within the next 48 to 72 hours the island's eastern provinces will be affected.

Assuming that within the next 12 to 24 hours Hurricane Irma will maintain its current path and rate of movement, the decision was made to establish an Alert in the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguín, Las Tunas, Camagüey, Ciego de Avila, and Villa Clara, as of 10:00am this morning, September 6. The Informative Phase is maintained in Sancti Spíritus, Cienfuegos, and Matanzas; while the provinces of La Habana and Mayabeque must remain attentive to information released by the Meteorology Institute.

State bodies and organs, economic entities, and social institutions of the provinces now in the Alert phase, must implement measures established in their respective disaster mitigation plans, increase hydro-meteorological monitoring, and evaluate models of possible impacts.

The population is urged to stay informed of the evolution of this hurricane via Hurricane Advisories released by the Meteorology Institute, and Civil Defense instructions, adopting, in a disciplined fashion, all measures as indicated by local authorities.

National Civil Defense Chiefs of Staff