© Agence France-Presse/Getty Images/NASA Isaac strengthened on Wednesday and looked set to become a hurricane as it churned through the Caribbean on a path that could bring it to Florida during next week's Republican convention.
Tropical Storm Isaac is forecast to make landfall Saturday morning near the U.S. naval base on the southeastern tip of Cuba, according to the National Weather Service. It is expected to become a hurricane by Thursday.
On Wednesday, a military spokesman at the Guantanamo detention center said most of the detainees are housed in concrete structures that can withstand the effects of hurricane-force winds; those who are not will be transferred to secure structures. Officials said they are also preparing to evacuate nonessential personnel, representatives of human rights groups and reporters from the island.
Residents of the base, meanwhile, were told to expect destructive winds and were advised to secure loose objects in their yards that could "become projectiles."
The last major storm to threaten Naval Station Guantanamo Bay was Tropical Storm Tomas in November 2010. It passed just east of Cuba but brought heavy rain and 60 mph winds, causing substantial flooding in the region.
