Hurricane Rafael becomes a Category 2 storm as it nears Cuba

Rafael continues to fortify and forecast to beryllium adjacent large Category 3 hurricane presumption astatine landfall successful occidental Cuba.

Hurricane Rafael has intensified into a Category 2 hurricane conscionable hours earlier it is forecast to marque landfall successful Cuba, according to the United States National Weather Service.

Hurricane Rafael is located astir 260km (160 miles) south-southeast of Havana, Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 160km/h (100mph), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported connected Wednesday.

Rafael continues to fortify and is expected to beryllium connected the cusp of “major hurricane” strength – classified arsenic Category 3 oregon supra – astatine landfall successful occidental Cuba, the NHC added.

It was different changeable of atrocious quality for Cuba, which has been struggling with blackouts portion recovering from Hurricane Oscar, which killed astatine slightest six radical 2 weeks agone successful the eastbound portion of the island.

Rafael is apt to exacerbate the island’s acute vigor crisis, which has led to enactment stoppages and prolonged powerfulness outages successful caller weeks owed to decrepit infrastructure and a deficiency of substance for Cuba’s oil-fired powerfulness stations.

Hurricane #Rafael Advisory 11A: Rafael Continues to Strengthen. Expected to Be Near Major Hurricane Intensity At Landfall In Western Cuba. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) November 6, 2024

Forecasters warned that Rafael was expected to slam into Cuba connected Wednesday evening aft dumping rainfall connected Jamaica and the Cayman Islands connected Tuesday. The NHC warned of floods, tempest surges and mudslides.

The US Department of State issued an advisory for Cuba connected Tuesday afternoon, offering departure flights to nonessential unit and American citizens and advising others to “reconsider question to Cuba owed to the imaginable impact” of Rafael.

Also connected Tuesday, the Cuban Civil Defence called connected citizens to hole arsenic soon arsenic imaginable due to the fact that erstwhile the tempest makes landfall, “it’s important to enactment wherever you are.”

Authorities said they had issued an evacuation bid for 37,000 radical successful acold eastbound Cuba successful the state of Guantanamo owed to atrocious weather.

A hurricane informing was successful effect connected Tuesday for a information of the Cayman Islands and the Cuban provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, La Habana, Mayabeque, Matanzas and the Isle of Youth.

A tropical tempest informing was successful effect for the Cuban provinces of Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus and Ciego de Avila arsenic good arsenic the little and mediate Florida Keys.

Warnings were lifted successful Jamaica aft the tempest passed by the occidental coast.

Rafael connected Tuesday knocked retired powerfulness successful Jamaica and unleashed flooding and landslides. The Jamaica Public Service, the island’s energy provider, said successful a connection precocious connected Tuesday that impassable roads were preventing crews from restoring powerfulness successful immoderate areas.

Rafael is the 17th named tempest of the season.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the 2024 hurricane play was apt to beryllium good supra mean with 17 to 25 named storms. The forecast called for arsenic galore arsenic 13 hurricanes and 4 large hurricanes.

An mean Atlantic hurricane play produces 14 named storms, 7 of them hurricanes and 3 large hurricanes.

Rafael is the 11th hurricane to signifier this twelvemonth with 4 becoming large Category 3 storms with maximum sustained winds of 178km/h (111mph) oregon more.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies