Cuba braced for big blow from Hurricane Matthew

Eastern Cuba braced Tuesday Oct. 4 for a swipe by Hurricane Matthew as bands of heavy rain and wind began to whip the island’s easternmost communities in the early afternoon.

José Rubinera, Cuba’s chief hurricane forecaster, said in a televised update that Matthew was expected to make landfall between Cajobabo and the city of Guantánamo, which sits near the U.S. Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. and would exit between the communities of Moa and Banes on the island’s northern coast around midnight.

U.S. personnel have been evacuated from the naval station at Guantánamo.

Rubinera said tropical storm force winds could affect Cuba as far west as Camagüey and Ciego de Avila.

“We’re very worried. It’s very sad and painful that a hurricane is arriving and could destroy the little that we have,” Yoandy Beltran Gamboa said in a phone call from Guantánamo.