Tropical Storm Eta Hits Florida Keys
- by Lorene Schwartz
- in People
- — Nov 10, 2020
(CNN)Tropical Storm Eta made landfall on the south-central coast of Cuba early Sunday and is predicted to bring a risky storm surge and life-threatening flash flooding.
The Florida Keys were placed under a hurricane warning on Sunday as Tropical Storm Eta made its way across Cuba and began to gather strength in the Florida Straits. Forecasters predict up to 8-12 inches of rain will fall over parts of South Florida.
South Florida has been placed on hurricane warning or alert, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale, already hit by flooding, according to TV footage.
As of 6 a.m. CST Monday, Tropical Storm Eta was located about 80 miles west-northwest of Key West, Fla., and was moving west at 13 mph.
The 65 miles per hour (100 kph) winds were heading northwest towards the Florida mainland at around 14 miles per hour (22kph). Cars were stranded and entire neighborhoods were swamped as flash floods rose in areas where the water had no place to drain.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared an emergency in advance of Eta.
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The Florida Keys and peninsula have mostly been spared the brunt of damage from the record-setting, 2020 Atlantic hurricane season that has spawned 28 named systems.
Eta hit land late Sunday as it blew over Lower Matecumbe, in the middle of the chain of small islands that form the Keys, but the heavily populated areas of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties bore the brunt of the fury. They were able to pull one person from the vehicle who was then taken to hospital in a critical condition, according to a statement by Lauderhill Fire give to AP.
Cuba faces "significant, life-threatening flash and river flooding" while a risky storm surge will raise levels by as much as two to four feet above normal tide levels along the coast.
In Guatemala's central region of Alta Verapaz, fresh landslides have halted rescue workers' efforts to dig through mud as much as 50 feet (15 meters) deep to reach buried homes where as many as an estimated 100 people disappeared.
Last week, Eta stormed through Central America as a Category 4 hurricane, triggering deadly mudslides that destroyed entire villages.
The storm swelled rivers and flooded coastal zones in Cuba, where 25,000 had been evacuated.
