In brief
Cuba experienced a catastrophic blackout as Hurricane Rafael battered the island with fierce winds, prompting mass evacuations and drawing attention to the nation's strained energy grid.
Hurricane Rafael slammed into Cuba on Wednesday, knocking out power for the entire island as winds reached up to 185 km/h (115 mph). The national energy company reported that the hurricane's ferocity necessitated a complete shutdown of the electricity system. Prior to the storm's landfall, authorities evacuated more than 70,000 residents from high-risk areas to avoid the dangers of storm surges, flooding, and mudslides.The impact of Rafael is particularly concerning, as it follows a previous incident just weeks ago when millions were left in darkness for four days due to failures in the country’s aging energy facilities. That blackout coincided with Hurricane Oscar, which tragically claimed at least six lives. Rafael made landfall in the western province of Artemisa, close to the capital, Havana, at about 4:15 PM local time (21:15 GMT). A representative from Unión Eléctrica, the state-run energy provider, stated that engineers would need to wait for the storm's passage before they could evaluate the damage to power plants and the electrical grid. By 10:00 PM, the hurricane had moved into the Gulf of Mexico and had weakened to a category two, with maximum sustained winds dropping to 169 km/h.The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that heavy rainfall would continue to affect western Cuba on Thursday, and storm surges could pose significant risks to life and property. Meanwhile, the Cayman Islands are also bracing for heavy rains, while a tropical storm warning is in effect for the Florida Keys.Only a month ago, Cuba witnessed another massive blackout affecting around ten million residents, a crisis fueled by maintenance shortages and insufficient fuel for power stations. In that instance, the hardest-hit region was Guantánamo, where over 1,000 homes suffered damage from the torrential rains and strong winds.
