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CNN Live At Daybreak
Hurricane Isidore Eyes Western Cuba
Aired September 20, 2002 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane Isidore is getting closer and closer to western Cuba, and tens of thousands of people are moving to safer ground now.
Our Havana bureau chief, Lucia Newman, joins us on the phone live with the latest from there.
What's the weather like -- Lucia?
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Well, it's nearly dawn here in Havana, where people, as you say, are preparing for Hurricane Isidore's gale-force winds, and especially, torrential rain.
Now, right now, we're witnessing the proverbial "calm before the storm." There is very, very little wind. It's not raining yet. But further south on the Isle of Youth, it is already taking a pounding as the hurricane moves closer and closer towards the main island.
Since yesterday, Carol, Cuba's Civil Defense Authority has been evacuating more than 100,000 people and livestock of low-lying or other vulnerable areas. Tourists have been moved out of popular seaside resorts that are in the way of the hurricane, and Cubans all over western Cuba have been stocking up on food, water and candles.
Now, the Hurricane Center predicts Isidore will pour up to 30 inches of rain on western and central Cuba in the next two or three days, and this is very bad news indeed for the capital, Havana, where old and dilapidated buildings regularly collapse, even after a simple thunderstorm.
Flooding is also a major concern. Most of the reservoirs in western Cuba are already nearly full to capacity.
So all in all, nothing to look forward to in the coming hours -- Carol.
COSTELLO: No, it doesn't sound like it.
Lucia Newman, thank you very much for that live report from Cuba.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 20, 2002 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane Isidore is getting closer and closer to western Cuba, and tens of thousands of people are moving to safer ground now.
Our Havana bureau chief, Lucia Newman, joins us on the phone live with the latest from there.
What's the weather like -- Lucia?
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Well, it's nearly dawn here in Havana, where people, as you say, are preparing for Hurricane Isidore's gale-force winds, and especially, torrential rain.
Now, right now, we're witnessing the proverbial "calm before the storm." There is very, very little wind. It's not raining yet. But further south on the Isle of Youth, it is already taking a pounding as the hurricane moves closer and closer towards the main island.
Since yesterday, Carol, Cuba's Civil Defense Authority has been evacuating more than 100,000 people and livestock of low-lying or other vulnerable areas. Tourists have been moved out of popular seaside resorts that are in the way of the hurricane, and Cubans all over western Cuba have been stocking up on food, water and candles.
Now, the Hurricane Center predicts Isidore will pour up to 30 inches of rain on western and central Cuba in the next two or three days, and this is very bad news indeed for the capital, Havana, where old and dilapidated buildings regularly collapse, even after a simple thunderstorm.
Flooding is also a major concern. Most of the reservoirs in western Cuba are already nearly full to capacity.
So all in all, nothing to look forward to in the coming hours -- Carol.
COSTELLO: No, it doesn't sound like it.
Lucia Newman, thank you very much for that live report from Cuba.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
