TORONTO — The eastern tip of Cuba got a lashing from Imelda but resort operations were not impacted.
That’s the word from the Cuba Tourist Board’s Nieves Ricardo, contacted by Travelweek in Toronto for an update on the island’s resorts.
“Imelda was just a tropical depression when it was close to the most eastern tip of Cuba. It brought heavy rain during the weekend mainly to the provinces of Guantanamo and Santiago causing some flooding in lower areas but nothing major,” Ricardo told Travelweek.
“No hotels were affected or closed and the typical resort areas in Holguin are operating normally,” she added.
BERMUDA ON HURRICANE WATCH
Meanwhile Bermuda is on hurricane watch as the outer bands of Hurricane Humberto began to hit the island today, with Imelda, now a hurricane as well, following closely behind.
Air Canada has triggered its flexible change policy for flights to and from Bermuda on Oct. 3; more details are here.
Humberto was located about 440 kilometres west of Bermuda. The Category 2 storm had maximum sustained winds of 155 kph and was moving north-northwest at 28 kph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Humberto was expected to pass well west and north of Bermuda on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, while Imelda was expected to pass near or over the island on Wednesday afternoon as a Category 2 hurricane, according to the Bermuda Weather Service.
Imelda was located about 290 kilometres north of Great Abaco Island. It had maximum sustained winds of 120 kph and was moving northeast at 11 kph.
Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s minister of national security, said the island faced “a serious week of weather.”
“I strongly urge the public to prepare,” he said.
Humberto is expected to drop up to 5 centimetres of rain on Bermuda and Imelda up to 10 centimetres.
Imelda also is pelting the coastal area of southeast North Carolina with rain that forecasters say could lead to flash and urban flooding.
Meanwhile, Humberto was generating dangerous swells affecting the northern Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda and much of the U.S. East Coast.
“Both storms churning through the Atlantic are producing dangerous rip currents and rough surf. Beaches from Florida to New Jersey may have hazardous conditions through the weekend.” said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather, a private U.S. weather forecasting company.
Imelda also flooded parts of the Bahamas on Monday, with New Providence hit hard. More than a dozen public schools on that island and on nearby Grand Bahama and Abaco remained closed on Tuesday.
“The aftermath is serious,” Prime Minister Philip Davis said. “Floodwaters remain.”
Imelda strengthened into a hurricane on Tuesday, becoming the Atlantic season’s ninth named storm and the fourth hurricane this year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms. Of those, five to nine were forecast to become hurricanes, including two to five major hurricanes, which pack winds of 111 mph or greater.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
With file from The Associated Press
