Authorities ordered evacuations of vulnerable shoreline areas.
Aug 29 - Tropical Storm Idalia closed in on Florida's Gulf Coast on Tuesday after skirting past Cuba, headed for a U.S. landfall as a powerful Category 3 storm, prompting authorities to order evacuations of vulnerable shoreline areas.
The storm's gathering force and the uncertainty of its path as it spun northward over the warm, open waters of the Gulf of Mexico put some 14 million Florida residents under hurricane and tropical storm warnings. "Buckle up for this one," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said during a news conference on Monday afternoon.
In its latest bulletin, the NHC reported Idalia churning about 55 miles off the western tip of Cuba as it crept northward, packing maximum sustained winds of 70 mph .Cubans rushed to evacuate coastal towns, batten down homes and tie down fishing boats as Idalia lingered for hours on Monday near the western end of the Caribbean island nation.
"We've had two days of rain already," said Yadira Alvarez, 34, as she readied for evacuation with her five children. "We try to prepare, but no matter what we do everything will be soaked."Farther to the west, more intense winds closer to the storm center pounded the tobacco-rich province of Pinar del Rio, home to the raw material for some of the world's finest Cuban cigars.
Hartsfield and many fellow anglers had pulled most of their boats from the bay and moved them to high ground, he said. Others who ran out of time and left their crab traps behind must now wait until after the storm to assess their losses.
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