Havana, September 8 (RHC)-- During the early hours of Friday morning, Hurricane Irma began lashing the seas north of eastern Cuba, causing coastal flooding on the northern coast of the provinces of Guantanamo and Holguín.

According to the Cuban Institute of Meteorology, although Irma has weakened slightly during the last few hours and has decreased its maximum sustained winds to 250 kilometers per hour, it continues to be a very intense system.

As of early Friday morning, its center was estimated to be about 168 kilometers to the north of Punta de Maisí, in the Cuban territory of Guantánamo; and 180 kilometers northeast of Punta Lucrecia, in Holguin.

Over the next 12 to 24 hours, Irma will continue to travel on a similar course, reducing its speed while traveling through the Old Channel of The Bahamas, but near the northern coast of central and eastern Cuba.