United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator in

Subject: Situation Report No. 4 “Tropical Storm GUSTAV”- 29 August, 15:00

Situation:

Tropical Storm GUSTAV : http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200807_sat.html#a_topad

According to the Tropical Cyclone Report No. 18, issued by the Meteorological Institute of the Republic of Cuba (INSMET), on the 29th of August, maximum sustained winds of GUSTAV reached 100 kms/hr, with strong gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 991 MB.

The center of the Tropical Storm is located near 18.6 Latitude N and 78.9 Longitude West, or approximately 275 kms east-southeast of Grand Cayman and 570 kilometers southeast of Cabo Cruz, Province, Cuba.

It is now moving west-northwest at approximately 8 km/hr but a turn towards northeast is expected later today. Within the next few hours, an increase in intensity to hurricane category is predicted.

1

Projection of Tropical Storm GUSTAV: http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200807_5day.html#a_topad

Measures Adopted by the Government of Cuba:

The Cuban Civil Defense, in their Informative Note No. 6 issued on the 29th of August at 14:00, declared “CYCLONE ALERT PHASE” for the provinces of , City of Havana and . “INFORMATION PHASE” was declared for Villa Clara, and Sancti Spiritus.

“CYCLONE ALERT PHASE” was declared for the southern coast of Ciego de Avila and Camaguey as well as for the southern coast of .

The Easternmost –Guantánamo, , Granma and Holguín— have now returned to normality or “NO PHASE”, although Civil Defense requested that the provincial authorities monitor the hydraulic situation, guarantee the safe return of all evacuated persons, evaluate damages and conduct recovery actions as needed.

With a “NO PHASE” declared in the easternmost provinces of Cuba, 72,000 people have initiated their return home and industrial, farming and service activities have returned to normal. All schools are preparing for the inauguration of the forthcoming school year. Electronic equipment, including satellite receivers and computers, has been reinstalled in schools in endangered areas.

2 Simultaneously, the Western provinces are now under “ALERT or INFORMATION PHASES” and evacuations of risk areas are preceding with the same care as demonstrated in the Eastern provinces. Medical teams have been activated, health centers prepared and schools and other centers have protected vulnerable equipment.

No incidents have been reported in Cuba.

Preliminary damages:

No damages have been reported.

Actions taken by the United Nations System in Cuba:

Starting on Tuesday 19 August, The United Nations System (SNU) in Cuba has monitored this climatic situation in the Atlantic which became Tropical Depression No. 7 when it penetrated the eastern Caribbean. The depression was then declared a Tropical Storm, later Hurricane and now again, a Tropical Storm with the name of GUSTAV.

The Office of the Resident Coordinator will establish telephone contact with all UN personnel residing in Havana should the situation require it. All planned mission outside of Havana have been cancelled.

Information:

For further information, please contact the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Cuba, at the following e-mail addresses: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].

Consult the United Nations Website in Cuba: www.onu.org.cu

For national information, consult: Instituto de Meteorología de Cuba http://www.insmet.cu Infomed Red De Salud Cubana http://www.sld.cu/sitios/huracanes/ Periódico Granma http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu Periódico Juventud Rebelde http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/ Periódico 5 de septiembre http://www.5septiembre.cu/ Agencia Cubana de Noticias http://www.ain.cu

3