Now a hurricane, Lili closed in Monday on Cuba’s western tip and Isle of Youth, the same region slammed 10 days ago by Hurricane Isidore. Cuban officials prepared to order mass evacuations.
The government of Cuba issued a hurricane warning for the provinces of Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, the Isle of Youth and the city and province of Havana. A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the rest of Cuba.
Forecasters also began raising alarms about the danger to the U.S. Gulf Coast, which is likely to sustain a direct strike Thursday night, possibly in Texas or Louisiana. They said Lili has the potential to become an intense hurricane capable of inflicting massive damage.
“Lili appears poised for some fairly significant strengthening,” said forecaster James Franklin of the National Hurricane Center in West Miami-Dade County. “The waters in the northwestern gulf are high octane, with a good inner core structure.
“Bottom line is that we should have a major hurricane nearing the Gulf coastline in three days’ time.”
Lili’s center was expected to graze the Isle of Youth early Tuesday and slice across the western end of the main island a few hours later. At that point, its sustained winds could reach 100 mph.
Monday morning, strong wind reached the Cayman Islands, where all schools and most offices were closed. About half of the 1,200
residents of the eastern island of Cayman Brac lost electricity when a power plant malfunctioned. Hundreds of people moved to shelters.
One man was feared dead in
Jamaica, where dozens of homes were damaged by raging floods. Fire brigades rescued dozens of flood victims, who where taken to emergency shelters.