Cuba faces hurricane chaos as hurricane Rafael slammed into the island, leaving a trail of destruction and nationwide power outages. The category three storm brought winds up to 115 mph, forcing the shutdown of the electricity system.
Havana resident Araselys Rodriguez was among those affected, making coffee by candlelight during the blackout. The national energy company, Unión Eléctrica, attributed the power outage to strong winds. At least 70,000 people landed in their western province of Artemisa, near Havana.
Rafael’s arrival comes just weeks after a devastating blackout left millions without power for four days. That incident was caused by issues with Cuba’s aging energy infrastructure and coincided with Hurricane Oscar, which claimed six lives.
The US National Hurricane Center reported Rafael making landfall at 16:15 local time. A Unión Eléctrica spokesperson stated that engineers must wait for the storm to pass before assessing damage to power plants and the grid.
By 22:00, Rafael had weakened to a category two hurricane and moved into the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center warned of continued heavy rains across western Cuba and potential storm surges that could threaten life.
Last month’s blackout affected 10 million Cubans, caused by maintenance issues and fuel shortages. Hurricane Oscar, a category one storm, damaged over 1,000 homes in the eastern province of Guantánamo.
Rafael’s impact extends beyond Cuba. Heavy rains are expected in the Cayman Islands, and a tropical storm warning is in effect for the Florida Keys. As Cuba begins recovery efforts, residents face another daunting challenge.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Rafael’s destruction, Cuba faced hurricane chaos once again, highlighting the island’s vulnerability to severe weather events and infrastructure challenges.
