Haitian authorities announced the evacuation of thousands of people
Tropical Storm Julia yesterday became the fifth hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season where the powerful hurricane Igor and another group of storms threatening several Caribbean territories, according to U.S. Hurricane Center (NHC) .
At three in the afternoon of yesterday, Julia was located 570 kilometers west of Cape Verde and was moving west with winds of 140 kilometers per hour, now a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson with a maximum of five, which measures the strength of the winds.
Julia "may have a further strengthening in the coming days," the NHC said.
Igor Hurricane, meanwhile, was moving over the Atlantic to the northwest, away from land, but strong waves and rain that occurs reached several Caribbean islands.
Another smaller storm system is affecting the region forced evacuations in Haiti and led to heavy rain on Cuba, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Belize.
NHC forecasters say it could become another tropical storm before moving over the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
The Haitian authorities said they evacuated thousands of people living in precarious conditions after the earthquake of January, before the bad weather that threatens the country.
The center of Igor, a powerful Category Four hurricane, was located at three in the afternoon yesterday to 1,140 km east of the Lesser Antilles and its maximum winds were 215 mph.
Like Julia, Igor has forecast a northwesterly direction in the coming days and would not impact land directly. The winds and strong tides generated by the storm began to feel in the Lesser Antilles yesterday and reach Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands today.
From Miami, USA on Wednesday September 15, 2010