Tropical Storm Elsa headed to landfall on central Cuba coast

Cuban officials have evacuated 180,000 people as a precaution against the possibility of heavy flooding.

Tropical Storm Elsa swept along Cuba’s southern coast early on Monday, and forecasters said it could make landfall on the island’s central shore by mid-afternoon. By Sunday, Cuban officials had evacuated 180,000 people as a precaution against the possibility of heavy flooding from a storm that already battered several Caribbean islands, killing at least three people. Most of those evacuated stayed at relatives’ homes, others went to government shelters, and hundreds living in mountainous areas took refuge in caves prepared for emergencies. Elsa was forecast to cross over Cuba by Monday night and then head for Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 15 counties, including in Miami-Dade County, where a high-rise condominium building collapsed last week.