Image:  Cuba's Civil Defense

Havana, December 15 (RHC) -- The National General Staff of Cuba's Civil Defense issued an early warning  alert for heavy rains in the coming hours associated with the formation of an extratropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the Forecast Center of the Institute of Meteorology, the formation will rapidly intensify and influence the western region of Cuba over the weekend.

Its circulation associated with a cold front affecting western Cuba, causing the deterioration of weather conditions, with coastal flooding in low-lying areas of the southern coast of the western provinces, showers, rains and thunderstorms that could be strong and intense in some localities, not ruling out the possibility of occurrence of severe local storms, according to the note.

Likewise, it is expected that the rainy areas will gradually move to the central and eastern regions, which could be heavy in some localities, and that coastal flooding may occur in low-lying areas of the western northern coast, including the Havana seawall.

The Civil Defense called on the governing bodies to be alert and comply with the measures established in the Country Procedure for Response and Recovery to Tropical Cyclones and other extreme weather events, as well as to take into account the experiences of recent weather events, paying special attention to communities located in areas at risk of flooding.

The institution also called on the people to stay informed through the media, official social network profiles and to comply with the instructions given by local authorities in a disciplined manner.   The Civil Defense, the Meteorology and Hydraulic Resources institutes maintain observation on the existing meteorological situation, the source added.

This week, the western part of the country was hit by heavy rains and thunderstorms, which hit some localities of the northern coast, mainly in Havana, according to the Institute of Meteorology  (Insmet).  (Source: PL).