Cuba Evacuates 180,000 as Tropical Storm Elsa Approaches

HAVANA - Cuba evacuated 180,000 people amid fears Sunday that Tropical Storm Elsa could unleash severe flooding after battering several Caribbean islands, killing at least three people.

The Cuban government had opened shelters and moved to protect sugarcane and cocoa crops ahead of the storm. Most of those evacuated went to relatives' homes, while some people sheltered at government facilities. Hundreds living in mountainous areas took refuge in natural caves that had been prepared for the emergency.   The storm's next target was Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 15 counties, including in Miami-Dade County where the high-rise condominium building collapsed last week.   On Sunday afternoon, Elsa was about 65 kilometers (40 miles) south-southeast of Cabo Cruz, Cuba and was heading northwest at 22 kph (14 mph). It had maximum sustained winds of about 95 kph (60 mph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.