Cubans alarmed for storm's change of direction

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-29 10:50

HAVANA -- Cuba alerted the public on Thursday for the sudden direction change of the tropical storm Gustav, which intensified Thursday morning when passing to the south of Jamaica.

The Meteorology Institute of Cuba (INSMET) said the trail models heralded Gustav's advance to Yucatan Canal.

At midday, Gustav's center was located some 20 km to the east of Punta Morante, at the eastern top of Jamaica and 275 km southeast of Cabo Cruz in the Cuban province of Granma.

The maximum sustained winds reached 110 km per hour, and its minimum atmospheric pressure has decreased to 983 hectopascals.

The INSMET said in the coming 12 to 14 hours, Gustav will move to the east and then to the east-northwest with more velocity of displacement.

The storm could turn into a hurricane in the western Caribbean. It will reach the south of Cuba Friday and cause rains in the southeastern provinces, mainly at the mountainous zones and the southern coasts, according to the INSMET.

Gustav has killed 19 people in Haiti and wreaked heavy havoc while in the Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, the eighth tropical storm Hanna, located some 490 km northeast of the West Indies, is moving to the east-northwest at 19 km per hour with sustained maximum winds of 65 km per hour.