CUBA: Tropical storm Ernesto pelted southeastern Cuba with heavy rain but diminished winds yesterday as it moved over the island on a path toward Florida's densely populated Miami-Fort Lauderdale area.
The US National Hurricane Center said Ernesto's winds dropped to 75km/h (45mph) as it moved onshore in eastern Cuba, down from hurricane strength at 124km/h (75mph) on Sunday. But the storm, which had become the year's first hurricane on Sunday, could become a hurricane again over the Florida Straits with winds of about 137km/h (86mph) as it approaches Florida's southern coast, the centre warned.
Cuba, facing its first big storm in decades without its ailing leader Fidel Castro at the helm, evacuated 300,000 people from eastern provinces.
The heavy rains could cause floods and mudslides in eastern Cuba, it said. Ernesto will possibly emerge off the northern coast of Cuba tonight or tomorrow morning, it added.
Meanwhile, Florida, storm-weary after being hit by eight hurricanes in the past two years, prepared for the worst. The state government declared a state of emergency and tourists were ordered out of the vulnerable Florida Keys almost a year to the day since hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans.
Nasa yesterday called off the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis at Cape Canaveral in Florida this week because of Ernesto.