Matthew Will Make Landfall in Guantanamo, Eastern Cuba

Havana, Oct 4 (Prensa Latina) The director of the National Forecasting Center of the Cuban Meteorology Institute (INSMET), Jose Rubiera, announced today that Hurricane Matthew in its slow progress is moving closer to Guantanamo, the easternmost province of Cuba.

According to its current path, the direct impact of the hurricane will be in Guantanamo, Rubiera said during a special live television program Cuban television has been broadcasting all day.

The weather event is moving at 15 kilometers per hour, and its minimum central pressure has dropped to 934 hPa, he added.

The last tropical cyclone warning predicted an increase in rainfall, with an average of between 200 and 300 millimeters, higher in some localities and mountainous regions.

According to a press release, there will be strong, heavy seas on both eastern coasts and heavy flooding in the south eastern coast of the country.

Coastal flooding is also expected in the northern coast of Guantanamo and in the neighboring province of Holguin. The hurricane will also increase in strength from a catergory 4 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Flooding will be moderate on the north coast of Las Tunas and Camaguey and there will be slight coastal flooding in the Gulf of Guacanayabo once the hurricane makes landfall in Cuba