Elsa dumped rains in Cuba and is now heading for the Florida Keys

Tropical Storm Elsa, the center of which made landfall in the Cuban province of Matanzas on Monday, dumps heavy rains in the west and center of the Caribbean island, from where it will then continue towards the Florida Keys. -United).

According to the United States’ National Hurricane Center (NHC), at 8:00 p.m. (01:00 GMT Tuesday), Elsa was pouring heavy rain 50 km from Havana.

Movement speed has decreased slightly over the past few hours and it is now 13 miles per hour (2 km / h) and maximum sustained winds remain at 50 miles per hour (85 km / h).

The fifth tropical storm of 2021 in the Atlantic is moving northwest and will weaken as it continues on land.

Meteorologists predict it will strengthen once it returns to sea in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

After passing through Cuba, the storm will move towards the Florida Keys. The southernmost island row of that state and the strip between Dry Tortugas and Craig Key are under tropical storm warning.

After reaching this group of islands in the early hours of Tuesday, the storm will then continue to the west coast of Florida, although the associated winds and rains are also being felt over the southeast coast, including Miami-Dade County, where tornado warnings were issued this afternoon and precipitation has started.

These effects could be an obstacle to search and rescue operations for the building in the coastal town of Surfside which partially collapsed on June 24, with a provisional death toll of 28 dead and 117 missing.

On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis extended the emergency order he issued a few days ago to also include Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Hamilton, Gilchrist, Jefferson, Lake, Lafayette, Madison, Marion, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla Counties.

The executive order issued today removed the declaration of a state of emergency for DeSoto, Hardee and specifically Miami-Dade counties, while it remains in the case of Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee , Levy, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota.

In Pinellas County, school authorities have decided to close schools on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and to cancel all summer and extracurricular activities that take place at their facilities.

Rasmussen University, for its part, announced that its campuses in Tampa / Brandon, Central Pasco and Fort Myers, in the western part of the state, will be closed on Tuesday due to the tropical storm.

Local media are reporting people who have now started going to sites set up by authorities to fill sandbags.

Elsa had Category 1 hurricane force for a few hours, the first in 2021.

Tropical storms Ana, Bill, Claudette and Danny were recorded before Elsa this year.

Meteorologists predict it will be an above-normal hurricane season but without reaching 2020, which has broken all historical records.

(With information from EFE)

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