Eta makes landfall in Florida Keys after lashing Cuba
Tropical Storm Eta made landfall at the Florida Keys late Sunday and was set
to bring hurricane conditions after slamming Cuba and earlier cutting a deadly
path through Central America and southern Mexico.
The US National Hurricane Center warned that Eta was bringing "strong winds, heavy rains, and dangerous storm surge" over portions of southern Florida and the Florida Keys.
Eta made landfall at 11:00 pm local (0400 GMT) in Lower Matecumbe Key in the Florida Keys, the NHC said, adding the "strong tropical storm" was blowing maximum sustained winds of 65 miles (100 kilometers) per hour.
A tropical storm is considered a hurricane when it hits wind speeds of 74 miles per hour.
A hurricane warning and storm surge warning were in effect for the Florida Keys, and a storm surge watch -- which is of slightly lower urgency -- was in effect for the state's southern coast.
Cuba's meteorology institute Insmet had reported Eta's landfall earlier. The storm punished the archipelago of Jardines del Rey, but state television reported that the 600 foreign tourists vacationing there were protected.
Heavy rains were reported in the eastern half of Cuba, where authorities have evacuated thousands of people due to the risk of flooding.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel convened an emergency government meeting, and "no loss of life or significant damage to homes have been reported," according to state media.
Before the storm arrived, 74,000 people were evacuated, 8,000 of them to shelters set up by the authorities, the reports said.
- Florida's preparations -
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in the state's southern counties on Saturday in advance of the storm, even as residents in the rain either protested or celebrated Joe Biden's win in the US presidential election.
The Florida Keys would close schools on Monday, Covid-19 testing sites were temporarily shut and authorities opened shelters and began handing out sandbags for residents to protect their homes from flooding.
Eta hit Nicaragua on Tuesday as a powerful hurricane before losing strength.
It caused torrential rains that have left some 200 victims dead or missing in Central America.
The most affected country has been Guatemala, where about 150 people are missing.
Rescuers on Saturday searched for the bodies of residents of an indigenous village in the north of the country that was hit by a landslide.
In Honduras, heavy flooding in the north and northwest of the country killed 23 people, according to authorities.
Torrential rain and a bitter cold front linked to Eta have also claimed at least 20 lives in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.
