Hurricane Bill Likely to Skirt Cuba

HAVANA TIMES, August 17 – Bill is the first hurricane in the Atlantic during the current season. Earlier on Monday the storm was still some 1,870 kilometers east of the smaller Eastern Caribbean islands, reported IPS.

The projected path of Hurricane Bill would take it into the open Atlantic, north-northeast of Puerto Rico, leaving Cuba off its path, although it’s still too early to tell the impact of the outer bands of the cyclone.

Meanwhile, what was tropical storm and now depression Ana continues to weaken and is currently located to the southeast of Puerto Rico.

Last year Cuba was hit by three major hurricanes, Gustav and Ike in a 10-day period at the end of August and early September and Paloma in early November.  Damages from the storms topped US $10 billion dollars, dealing a major setback to Cuba’s hopes to put a dent in the country’s severe housing shortage.