Elsa was weakened to a tropical hurricane force, but she continued to plow towards Haiti and the Dominican Republic Saturday, just a day after landing on the Caribbean islands of Barbados and St. Vincent.It was forecast to move towards Florida as a tropical hurricane by Tuesday morning. However, some models predicted it would make it into the Gulf and up the Atlantic Coast.Florida officials have warned that winds could hinder search-and rescue operations at the Surfside condominium in Florida."Our Department of Emergency Management assumes that this will occur and is making preparations to protect large quantities of equipment. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that there could be an incident with the building. Friday's statement was made by Ron DeSantis.Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade's Mayor, signed Saturday's local emergency. This allows the county to mobilize resources in case of an emergency. Meanwhile, rescue operations continue in the rubble from a 12-story condominium building that has collapsed.Cava stated that there is still uncertainty regarding the path but that he was continuing to monitor closely. If there are potential impacts to Miami, we will be ready," Cava said at a news conference.According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, the Category 1 storm was located approximately 40 miles southeast of Island Beta, Dominican Republic. It was moving west-northwest with a speed of 29 mph at 11 a.m. EST Saturday. According to the agency, maximum sustained winds were 70 mph. The tropical storm that had been a Category 1 hurricane earlier in Saturday was weakened as it approached Hispaniola and Cuba.NHC warned that weather conditions could worsen in the next hours. Elsa's forward speed would decrease on Saturday, while maximum wind speeds would remain about the same up to Sunday or Monday.DeSantis said Saturday that the state was ready for strong tropical storms. This could include isolated tornadoes and storm surge.He said, "We are hopeful that the storm just doesn’t have much runway for that speed and strength before reaching our peninsula."This report was contributed by the Associated Press.
