Cuba was hit by a nationwide power outage on Wednesday after Hurricane Rafael made landfall.
This is reported by the national electricity company at X.
– Strong winds as a result of Hurricane Rafael have led to a shutdown of the national energy grid, writes Union Electria in the announcement.
It has been less than a month since Cuba was last hit by a nationwide power outage.
Hurricane Rafael made landfall on the Caribbean island nation around 10.15pm Danish time.
It has been measured to have a wind force of 185 kilometers per hour and is thus a category 3 hurricane, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
According to the NHC, the hurricane is expected to bring “a life-threatening storm surge, strong hurricane-force winds and flash flooding in parts of western Cuba”.
A hurricane warning has been issued in 9 of Cuba’s total of 15 provinces.
In the town of Cadalaria, gusts of wind have torn branches from trees, and debris is scattered around the streets.
In the provinces of Artemisa and Pinar del Rio, more than 70,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as a result of the hurricane.
In Cuba’s capital, Havana, the streets are almost deserted, shops are closed and public transport is suspended.
Rafael is expected to weaken as it passes the island nation, which has a population of about ten million.
As a result of the hurricane, the NHC has forecast a tropical storm for the Florida Keys, an island chain in the US state of Florida.
It is just two weeks ago that Cuba was last hit by a nationwide power failure that lasted for four days.
The reason at the time was that the country’s largest power plant came to a standstill due to a lack of fuel.
For several months, Cuba has been affected by power outages lasting several hours.
The Caribbean island nation is currently hit by an economic crisis and the country’s residents are suffering from a lack of food, fuel, water and medicine.
/ritzau/AFP
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
