Havana, October 2 (RHC)-- The Forecast Center of the Institute of Meteorology of Cuba has issued a Tropical Storm Warning for the provinces of Camaguey, Las Tunas, Holguin and Guantanamo as a result of Hurricane Joaquin. The hurricane has winds of up to 215 kilometers per hour and heavy rains which also affect eastern and central Cuba.

The Category 4 hurricane, on a maximum scale of five on the Saffir -Simpson scale, is in the northern Bahamas and maintains a slow movement northwest, at around 6 kilometers per hour.

The Cuban weather institute also reported that because of the proximity of the hurricane, coastal flooding was generated in several communities in the municipalities of Niquero and Manzanillo, in Granma province.

The Weather Center also announced that the situation would continue for the next 24 hours and predicted that Joaquín would maintain the same course and speed, to tilt its path northwest and north, with possible fluctuations in intensity.