- Title: CUBA: HURRICANE ISADORE GATHERS FORCE AS IT ADVANCES TOWARDS CUBA'S WESTERN TIP
- Date: 20th September 2002
- Summary: (W6) HAVANA, CUBA (SEPTEMBER 20, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. LV: LIGHTHOUSE WITH DAWN BREAKING 0.06 2. WS: DAWN WITH TURBULENT SKY 0.10 3. MV: WAVES HITTING JETTY 0.16 4. SLV: CARS IN STREET 0.20 5. SLV: TREES BLOWN BY WIND 0.24 6. LV: STREET AND CARS 0.29 7. SV: PEOPLE ON STREETS 0.35 8. WIDE OF CITY STREET 0.40 9. SLV: WIND BLOWING DOWN STREET 0.44 (W6) PINAR DEL RIO, CUBA (SEPTEMBER 20, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 10. SCU: SIGN FOR A CROP BUSINESS 0.48 11. VARIOUS OF TREES BLOWN OVER BY WIND AND ELECTRICAL POLES ON THE GROUND (5 SHOTS) 1.20 12. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LORENZO PEREZ MARTINES, INHABITANT OF THE AREA SAYING: "Well, compared with others, this seems to be a cyclone. It has a good force." 1.28 13. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN STORES BUYING FOOD (2 SHOTS) 1.39 14. LV: MAN WALKING DOWN THE STREET IN WIND / FALLEN TREES 1.44 15. LV: SHED WITHOUT ITS ROOF 1.49 16. VARIOUS OF COAST WITH STRONG WINDS AND TURBULENT OCEAN IN THE TOWN OF COLOMA (A TOWN IN PINAR DEL RIO) (2 SHOTS) 1.58 17. MV: CHURCH OF THE TOWN OF COLOMA 2.04 18. TRAVELLING SHOT/SLV: STRONG RAINS (2 SHOTS) 2.12 19. SV: ORANGES ON THE GROUND 2.17 20. VARIOUS OF RUINED ORANGE FIELDS (2 SHOTS) 2.27 21. VARIOUS OF FALLEN TREES IN STREET (2 SHOTS) 2.34 22. VARIOUS OF OVERFLOW WATER (3 SHOTS) 2.51 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 5th October 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HAVANA AND PINAR DEL RIO, CUBA
- Country: Cuba
- Reuters ID: LVA9DVV76PNRS4B08KLYFDOXBTMW
- Story Text: Hurricane Isidore has gathered force from warm
Caribbean waters and advanced toward the western tip of Cuba.
Hurricane Isidore strengthened as it neared Cuba on
Friday (September 20), churning up 105 mph (165 kph) winds.
U.S. meteorologists expected Isidore to become a major
hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico after crossing the
tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio in western Cuba.
Isidore first pounded the Isle of Youth off Cuba's south
coast with gusty winds and heavy rainfall on Thursday
(September 19) night. The storm knocked down trees and power
lines, but its eye swung narrowly south of the isle.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isidore,
already a category two hurricane, would strengthen before
reaching mainland Cuba.
Authorities evacuated 185,000 residents from precarious
housing and schools, and hundreds of tourists and hotel
workers from outlying keys and beaches visited by vacationers
and divers.
President Fidel Castro said Cuba was prepared for the
storm and could weather its battering without a single loss of
life.
He also added that the threat of war was more damaging
than a hurricane, an apparent reference to U.S. plans to
attack Iraq, which Cuba's communist government has opposed.
In Pinar del Rio, 90 miles (140 km) west of Havana, strong
winds knocked down telephone lines and trees, and the city
center had no electrical power. Authorities in the town, where
the best tobacco for Cuba's famed cigars is grown, moved to
protect drying tobacco and 40,000 seedlings for the next crop.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Isidore was
expected to spend Friday crossing the westernmost part of
Cuba, unloading "extremely heavy rainfall," before heading
into the Gulf of Mexico.
As Cuba braced for Isidore, residents were still
recovering from Hurricane Michelle, which swept through
central Cuba last November, killing five people, destroying
citrus and sugar cane plantations, wrecking 200,000 homes and
causing $1.8 billion in damage.
Isidore is the second hurricane of the 2002 season.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
