South Florida hunkers down for Eta
Tropical storm on way after roaring over Cuba
HAVANA — A strengthening Tropical Storm Eta sliced across Cuba on Sunday and was aimed at the southern tip of Florida, where officials braced for a storm that could hit at hurricane force after leaving scores of dead and over 100 missing in Mexico and Central America.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami declared hurricane and storm surge warnings for the Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay, with the storm expected to reach that area by Sunday night or early Monday.
Florida officials closed beaches, ports and COVID-19 testing sites, shut down public transportation and urged residents to stay off the street. Several shelters also opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low-lying areas.
Broward County also shut down in-person schooling Monday, and Miami seemed poised to do the same.
Eta had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph on Sunday afternoon and was centered north of Cuba, about 115 miles southeast of Marathon, Florida, and about 140 miles south-southeast of Miami. It was moving northwest at 14 mph.
The storm swelled rivers and flooded coastal zones in Cuba, where 25,000 had been evacuated. But there were no reports of deaths.
Eta hit Cuba even as searchers in Guatemala were still digging for people believed buried by a massive, rain-fueled landslide. On Sunday, authorities raised the known death toll there from 15 to 27 and said more than 100 were missing in Guatemala, many of them in the landslide in San Cristobal Verapaz.
Some 60,000 people had been evacuated in Guatemala.
At least 20 people also were reported dead in southern Mexico, and local officials in Honduras reported 21, though the national disaster agency had confirmed only eight.
In Florida, Gov. Ron Desantis declared a state of emergency Saturday for eight counties at the end of the state as Eta approached, urging residents to stock up on supplies. South Florida started emptying ports.
Miami-dade County declared a state of emergency Friday night and also warned that a flood watch would be in effect through Tuesday night.
In the Keys, officials were monitoring the storm closely but had no plans yet to evacuate tourists or residents. They urged residents to secure their boats and encouraged visitors to consider altering plans until Eta had passed.
Eta initially hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, and authorities from Panama to Mexico were still surveying the damage following days of torrential rains during the week.
In Guatemala, search teams first had to overcome multiple landslides and deep mud just to reach the site where officials have estimated some 150 homes were devastated.