MIAMI (AP) – Dangerous tropical weather was brewed in the Atlantic on Saturday, with Humbel becoming stronger against a powerful Category 4 hurricane, infused with another weather system aimed at the southeastern US
Mayor Charleston, the South Carolina port city of South Carolina, declared a state of emergency ahead of a system that is projected to reach the southeastern US coastline as a hurricane earlier next week.
“What we do today is about preparation,” Charleston Mayor William Cogswell said in a news release. “Our teams clean up drains, staging pumps and barricades and coordinate staff to ensure they can respond quickly in the event of worsening conditions.”
Governor Henry McMaster, who declared a state of emergency for all South Carolina on Friday, advised residents to be extremely careful of the storm.
“The arrival, speed and intensity of a storm remains difficult to predict, but I know there will be heavy winds, heavy rain and floods throughout South Carolina. I’ve seen this,” McMaster said.
Hurricane Hambel There was a maximum sustained wind of 145 mph (230 kph) on Saturday, according to the latest advisory from the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. The storm was located about 365 miles (587 km) northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. It was moving west at 8 mph (13 kph).
Humbelt can create life-threatening surfing and rifts in the Northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Bermuda over the weekend, predictors said.
Puerto Rico’s National Weather Service issued a small craft advisory, urging people to stay on land and avoid unnecessary travel. They also advised residents to keep in mind the beach warning flag system due to the high risk of RIP currents.
The island’s coastal and urban areas also received extreme heat warnings.
Meanwhile, the weather system, which is likely to develop into tropical storms over the weekend, threatened the Bahamas and parts of Cuba with heavy rains and flash floods. Parts of the Bahamas were warned of tropical storms on Saturday.
The Bahamas Weather Service has urged residents of the Northwest and Central Islands, including New Providence, Andros Island, San Salvador and Long Island, to “final preparations” for the possibility of a tropical storm on Saturday or early Sunday. They pointed out that when rainfall in the central and southeastern Bahamas reaches 4-8 inches (10-20 cm), it can reach several isolated areas that see up to 10 inches (25 cm).
“Lowland residents should take action to mitigate property damage caused by floods,” the department warned in a statement.
As the system operates parallel offshores of Florida’s Atlantic coastline, it is expected to gradually strengthen its tropical storms by Sunday.
South Florida officials, who have been saturated with rain throughout September, continued to keep an eye on the system. Tropical Stormwatch, part of the Florida coastline north of West Palm Beach, was issued on Saturday in the area north of Daytona Beach.
In Homestead, Florida, in Florida, which was devastated by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, emergency manager Jaime Hernandez was worried about the self-satisfaction of residents.
“There are so many South Florida people who may have experienced limited impacts from recent storms, such as Hurricane Irma, in recent years, and I mistakenly believe they have “passed through something big” from these events,” Hernandez said.
He points out that Homestead is one of four communities in the continent of the United States to experience the devastating effects of a Category 5 hurricane. “We know very well the importance of creating an emergency plan and providing information,” Hernandez said.
The tropical disturbances caused heavy rains on the Dominican Republic on Friday, leading authorities to evacuate hundreds of people and declare a red warning in five states.
The floods in the southwestern province of Azua have been driven out by at least 774 people, with 26 people evacuating due to the overflow of the Tabara River, civil defense spokesman Jensen Sanchez told The Associated Press.
In the East Atlantic, the post-tropical Cyclone Gabriel center left the Azores. Hurricane warnings across the Portuguese archipelago have been cancelled.
Gabriel was expected to approach the Portuguese coast by the beginning of Sunday. The expansion, which is expected to create a life-threatening wave and rift flow, was expected to reach Portugal, northwest Spain and north Morocco on Saturday.
In the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Narda It was about 1,025 miles (1,650 km) west-southwest at the southern tip of Baja, California, and 12 miles (19 kph) heading west-northwest. The Category 1 storm was expected to maintain its strength on Friday before it weakened over the weekend.
The swells produced by Narda had an impact on the sur in the Mexican coast and Baja California, predictors said. The swell that could bring about the current state of life-threatening waves and ripping was expected to reach Southern California over the weekend.
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Associated Press reporter Regina Garciacano reported from Caracas, Venezuela.
