Cuba evacuates 70,000 as Tropical Storm Elsa approaches

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba evacuated 70,000 people along the island’s southern region amid fears that Tropical Storm Elsa could unleash heavy 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. 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. Elsa was a Category 1 hurricane up until Saturday morning, causing widespread damage in several eastern Caribbean islands on Friday as the first hurricane of the Atlantic season.