Cuba without power as storm hits

Cuba suffered a nationwide blackout on Wednesday as Hurricane Rafael introduced winds of as much as 185km/h (115mph) to the Caribbean island.

The nation’s nationwide vitality firm mentioned robust winds had brought about the shutdown of the electrical energy system.

Not less than 70,000 individuals had been evacuated from their properties earlier than the class three storm made landfall on Wednesday night with warnings of storm surges, flash flooding, and mudslides.

It comes simply weeks after hundreds of thousands had been left with out energy for 4 days following a blackout attributable to points with the nation’s creaking vitality infrastructure. The incident additionally coincided with Hurricane Oscar, which killed not less than six individuals.

Rafael made landfall within the western province of Artemisa, close to capital Havana, at round 16:15 native time (21:15 GMT), the US Nationwide Hurricane Heart (NHC) mentioned.

A spokesperson for the state-owned vitality firm, Unión Eléctrica, mentioned engineers must await the storm to go over the island earlier than they may assess its impression on energy crops and the grid extra typically.

By 22:00, Rafael had moved on into the Gulf of Mexico and weakened to a class two hurricane, with most wind speeds of 169km/h.

The NHC mentioned the storm would proceed to deliver heavy rains throughout western Cuba by means of Thursday and that storm surges may pose a hazard to life.

Heavy rains are additionally anticipated within the Cayman Islands, whereas a tropical storm warning is in pressure within the Florida Keys.

Final month, round 10 million individuals in Cuba had been left with out energy following a blackout attributable to upkeep points and an absence of gas to run energy stations.

That blackout additionally coincided with Hurricane Oscar, a much less highly effective class one storm that left a path of destruction alongside the island’s north-eastern coast.

The worst-affected space was the japanese province of Guantánamo, the place greater than 1,000 properties had been broken by heavy rains and powerful winds.