Hurricane Gustav continued its destructive path through the
Caribbean on Saturday, reaching Cuba as weather forecasters warned that the
storm could strengthen yet further.
The Cuban News Agency (ACN) reported on Saturday that officials in the
low-lying western provinces, where more than 60,000 people had been evacuated
as the storm approached overnight, were moving to assess damage. No reports of
casualty levels were immediately available.
Officials from the Cuban National Weather institute warned the provinces of
Habana, Ciudad de La Habana and Matanzas in the west of the country to be on
high alert as the storm continued through the country.
The hurricane had strengthened into a "major" category three storm as
it neared the Cuban coast, and there were fears it could develop into a
category four storm with winds of over 200 kilometres an hour.
On Saturday morning the US Hurricane Centre in Miami warned that Gustav had
already reached wind speeds of 195 kilometres an hour.
Cuban President Raul Castro said on Saturday morning that all preparations had
been taken to protect the population from the effects of the hurricane.
Gustav has already claimed at least 59 lives in in Haiti, eight in the
Dominican Republic and four in Jamaica. The hurricane's path was expected later
to include the Gulf of Mexico, where workers have been evacuated from several
rigs.
In Jamaica, around 4,000 people are in need of emergency accommodation. Heavy
damage has been sustained to infrastructure across the country, with roads,
bridges and electricity affected.
US authorities are bracing for the possibility that the storm could hit the
states of Louisiana and Mississippi with full force, three years after the
devastating hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Thousands of residents of the US Gulf Coast have already evacuated their homes
ahead of the approaching storm. US President George W Bush has
announced a state of emergency in Louisiana and Texas, making federal disaster
funding available, dpa reported.