Hurricane Rafael weakened Thursday after hitting Cuba as a powerful Category 3 storm and leaving the island without power, as Cuban authorities struggle to restore power to about 10 million people.
The network collapsed on Wednesday afternoon, when Rafael hit Cuba with maximum winds of 185 kilometers per hour, damaging homes, uprooting trees and toppling telephone poles.
By Thursday morning, the hurricane had moved 250 kilometers northwest of Havana, entering the Gulf of Mexico, where it no longer posed an immediate threat to land, according to the United States National Hurricane Center, headquartered in Miami.
The Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines said it had already begun work to reconnect the national grid late Wednesday, but warned that the process would be slower in the western areas of the island, the most affected by the storm.
Emergency workers had restored power to some circuits, according to state media, although Havana remained largely without power as of dawn Thursday.
According to authorities, the Havana airport will remain closed at least until noon on Thursday.
New total blackout
Giant waves hit the shores of Havana on Wednesday evening as strong winds and rain lashed the historic urban landscape, leaving trees scattered over flooded roads. Much of the deserted city spent the night in darkness.
Cuban state company UNE said strong winds had caused the country’s electrical system to collapse. State television reported that the entire population of 10 million people was left without electricity, the second incident of this type in less than a month on the islandto.
In Photos | Hurricane Rafael causes new electrical collapse in Cuba
Forecasters predict that Rafael will detour into the western Gulf of Mexico later this week, although the trajectory remains uncertain.
The new total blackout leaves Cubans with a strange feeling of déjà vu after a difficult few weeks in the Caribbean nation.
In October, the island received a double blow. First, Cuba was rocked by blackouts that lasted for days, as a result of its endemic energy crisis. Shortly after, another powerful hurricane hit the country, killing at least six people in the eastern part of the island.
This fueled growing discontent on the island, which is suffering one of the worst economic crises in its recent history, which has forced many to emigrate from Cuba.
Evacuations and concern among Cubans
Before Rafael’s arrival, the Cuban government sounded the alarms and asked citizens to take shelter.
Classes and public transportation were suspended in some parts of the island and authorities canceled flights in and out of Havana and Varadero. Thousands of people in the west of the island were evacuated as a preventive measure, and many more, like Silvia Pérez, a 72-year-old retiree who lives in a coastal area of Havana, rushed to prepare.
“This is a night where I don’t want to sleep through the night,” Perez said. “I’m scared for my friends and my family.”
Concern arose after the storm knocked out power to the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, where it also triggered flooding and landslides.
Rafael is the 17th named storm of the season.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted that the 2024 hurricane season would likely be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast called for up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
[Con información de AP y Reuters]
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