TS Matthew Lands Far From Cuba

By Circles Robinson

HAVANA TIMES, Sept. 24 — Tropical Storm Matthew touched land in the extreme northeast of Nicaragua on Friday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 75 kmh (45 mph), reported Cuba’s Meteorological Institute (INSMET) which has been tracking the tempest.  The storm poses no threat to Cuba.

Some 10,000 persons were to be evacuated by the Nicaraguan Civil Defense as the storm approached in Cabo Gracias a Dios and the Miskito Cays.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami also issued a Tropical Storm warning for the entire northern coast of Honduras and a TS watch for the eastern coast of Belize.

Saturated land from previews rains makes flooding all the more dangerous in the affected areas of Central America, noted the civil defense authorities.

The more active than average hurricane season continues to the end of November.