Eastern Cuba on Alert for Bill Swells
![Devastating damage from hurricane Ike in Cuba in September 2008. Photo: Caridad Devastating damage from hurricane Ike in Cuba in September 2008. Photo: Caridad](https://havanatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/copia-de-holguin-08-300x200.jpg)
HAVANA TIMES, Aug. 21 – Hurricane Bill’s strong winds could cause heavy waves that would impact on low-lying areas of Cuba’s eastern region, warned the Cuban Meteorological Institute on Friday morning, reported IPS.
The Institute is tracking Hurricane Bill as it continues on its northwesterly path. By 6:00 pm. EST, the center of the storm was pegged at 370 SE of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 105 MPH.
The island’s weather experts noted that the still highly dangerous storm had lost a little in organization and intensity over the Atlantic and has a central pressure of 954 mb, making it a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Meanwhile, as Bermuda was hit by heavy rains ahead of Bill, AP reported that coastal flooding from the storm was also being felt in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Bahamas.
In the United States, New York City beaches are closed to swimming because of the threat of Hurricane Bill and New England is on warning for possible waves from 20 to 35 feet in some areas.
I know many cubans would consider this to be far off or impractical for them, but AFAIC assuming near-term, consistent economic growth through large-scale internationalist resource-pooling under e.g. ALBA, the possibility could soon exist whereby the need to repair storm-damaged infrastructure just might allow for its systematic replacement with much higher-quality structures. So in other words, there could be a possible ‘bright side’ to cubans’ relationship with hurricanes…
!!
The alternative, of course, would be to continue living as in the past: in unending fear, with relentless foreboding, trepidation, passivity and resignation as the regular state of affairs in cuban society. But that would be very un-socialist of everyone, now wouldn’t it?