- Title: Tourists and residents in Santiago de Cuba brace for Hurricane Matthew
- Date: 2nd October 2016
- Summary: SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA (OCTOBER 02, 2016) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF SIBONEY BEACH EXPERIENCING HEAVY SURF BECAUSE OF HURRICANE MATTHEW CANADIAN TOURISTS ENJOYING THE BEACH WARNING FLAG ON THE BEACH INDICATING DANGEROUS CONDITIONS TOURISTS ON THE BEACH (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOURIST VERA MARKOVA SAYING: "I came from Toronto and I'm on vacation. And unfortunately the hurricane spoiled our vacation." PALM TREE SWAYING IN THE WIND HEAVY SURF VARIOUS OF CAVES WHERE SOME CUBANS SOUGHT SHELTER SANTIAGO RESIDENT EDUARDO GALLO APPROACHING CAVE GALLO INSIDE CAVE ALONG WITH CHILDREN (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SANTIAGO RESIDENT EDUARDO GALLO SAYING: "We believe that there will be no danger here because the tide does not rise here because (if it did) it would swallow the entire city. But we are protected in these caves, taking care of our lives and struggling to make sure that the children do not have any problems because they are the ones we take care of the most." VARIOUS OF GALLO LEAVING CAVE WITH CHILDREN WORKERS OF THE HOTEL LAS AMERICAS PROTECTING WINDOWS WITH PLYWOOD VARIOUS MORE OF WORKERS COVERING WINDOWS TO HOTEL HOTEL GUESTS IN LOBBY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) TOURIST FROM SPAIN, JOSE JIMENEZ, SAYING: "They have told us that we cannot leave the hotel and must remain in our rooms when the hurricane starts and not to move from here until they (hotel employees) tell us it is safe." GENERAL VIEW OF STREET SCENES FROM SANTIAGO VARIOUS OF WORKERS REMOVING STREET SIGNALS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYEE ISMAEL ESPINOSA SAYING: "Now, we are removing everything like the traffic lights because of the hurricane." RESIDENTS WAITING TO PURCHASE SUPPLIES FROM STORE BOX WITH FOOD (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT OF SANTIAGO YARITZA GONZALEZ SAYING: "We are standing in queue, waiting to purchase food and the most useful things that we will need for this hurricane." EMPLOYEE USING RADIO RADIO (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HEAD OF CIVIL DEFENCE AUTHORITY, WENCESLAO GOMEZ SAYING: "As soon as we received the information that the hurricane was getting closer, we started taking all of the necessary measures, evacuations. We starting preparing the population, informing them about the situation independently from the information they would get from the television." GENERAL VIEW OF SIBONEY BEACH
- Embargoed: 17th October 2016 22:51
- Keywords: Cuba Hurricane Matthew storm hurricane tourists Santiago de Cuba
- Location: SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA / INTERNET
- City: SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA / INTERNET
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
- Reuters ID: LVA00152BBGP3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Tourists and residents of Cuba were on alert on Sunday (October 02) as Hurricane Matthew churned its way through the Caribbean, the strongest storm to menace the region since 2007.
Matthew's slow-moving centre is expected to near southwestern Haiti and Jamaica on Monday (October 03) as a major storm bringing 145 mile-per-hour (230 km-per-hour) winds and life-threatening rain, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.
Eastern Cuba also will feel bands of fierce wind and rain, the agency said.
Tourists hit the beach to take in what sun they could.
"I came from Toronto and I'm on vacation. And unfortunately the hurricane spoiled our vacation," said tourist, Vera Markova.
In Cuba, where evacuations were under way, many flights were suspended as of noon on Sunday (October 02).
Cuban President Raul Castro warned that Matthew was stronger than Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the Santiago de Cuba province in 2012.
Eduardo Gallo took his family to a nearby cave to ride out the hurricane.
"We believe that there will be no danger here because the tide does not rise here because (if it did) it would swallow the entire city. But we are protected in these caves, taking care of our lives and struggling to make sure that the children do not have any problems because they are the ones we take care of the most," he told Reuters.
Tourists have been advised to bunker down in their hotel rooms as the hurricane passes through the area.
"They have told us that we cannot leave the hotel and must remain in our rooms when the hurricane starts and not to move from here until they (hotel employees) tell us it is safe," said tourist, Jose Jimenez.
Government workers took to the streets on Sunday (October 02) to take down any loose fittings on streets and footpaths which could be swept away by Matthew and cause damage to the local populace.
"Now, we are removing everything like the traffic lights because of the hurricane," said public servant, Ismael Espinosa.
Cubans are no strangers to hurricane preparations, with many locals heading to the supermarkets to stock up ahead of the wild weather.
"We are standing in queue, waiting to purchase food and the most useful things that we will need for this hurricane," said local, Yaritza Gonzalez.
Citizens have been urged to stay tuned to official state media for updates on Hurricane Matthew.
"As soon as we received the information that the hurricane was getting closer, we started taking all of the necessary measures, evacuations. We starting preparing the population, informing them about the situation independently from the information they would get from the television," said Wenceslao Gomez from the Civil Defence Authority.
Later in the week, Matthew could affect the Bahamas and the U.S. East Coast, although forecasts so far out are often inaccurate.
The U.S. State Department issued travel warnings for the Bahamas, Jamaica and Haiti and authorised government workers' relatives and non-essential personnel to leave. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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