Tropical Storm Isaac drenches Haiti, Cuba, heads toward Florida

Associated Press

HAVANA

Tropical Storm Isaac pushed over Cuba on Saturday after sweeping across Haiti’s southern peninsula, where it caused flooding and at least four deaths, adding to the misery of a poor nation still trying to recover from the terrible 2010 earthquake.

Isaac’s center made landfall just before midday near the far-eastern tip of Cuba, downing trees and power lines. In the city of Baracoa, the storm surge flooded the seaside Malecon and a block inland, destroying two homes.

Forecasters said Isaac poses a threat to Florida on Monday and Tuesday, just as the Republican Party gathers for its national convention in Tampa. It could eventually hit the Florida Panhandle as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of nearly 100 mph.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency, officials urged vacationers to leave the Florida Keys and the U.S. National Hurricane Center said a hurricane warning was in effect there, as well as for the west coast of Florida from Bonita Beach south to Ocean Reef and for Florida Bay.

At least four people were reported dead in Haiti, including a 10-year-old girl who had a wall fall on her, according to the country’s Civil Protection Office. There were no details on how the others died.

The government also reported two injuries; “considerable damage” to agriculture and homes; nearly 8,000 people who were evacuated from their houses or quake shelters; and more than 4,000 who were taken to temporary shelters.

Forecasters predicted the storm would likely march up through the Gulf of Mexico and approach the Florida Keys on Sunday, then continue north off the state’s west coast as a hurricane on Monday, just as the Republican National Convention is to start.

Tampa is within the tropical storm watch zone, meaning forecasters believe tropical storm conditions are possible there within the next 48 hours.

Gov. Scott said in a media briefing that delegates were being told how to stay safe during a storm, and officials were ready for storm surge, bridge closures and other problems that could arise during the convention.

After hitting land near the easternmost tip of Cuba on Saturday, Isaac’s center spent just a few hours over the island before reemerging into the water, here it was expected to pick up strength.

On Saturday night, the storm was centered about 80 miles east-northeast of Camaguey, Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, the Hurricane Center reported. It was moving northwest along the Cuban coastline at 20 mph.