Hurricane Rafael hit Cuba with Category 3 strength, shortly after strong winds caused power outages, the Associated Press reported.
Meteorologists warned that the storm could be accompanied by “life-threatening” storm surge, winds and flash flooding in the west of the island.
The element covers an area 75 km southwest of Havana. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and was moving northwest at 14 mph (22 km/h), the US National Hurricane Center said.
The passing of the storm is bad news for Cuba, which is struggling with ongoing power outages as the country tries to recover from another storm that hit two weeks ago. Then six people died in the eastern part of the island.
Today, the Cuban government issued a warning about an impending storm as crews in Havana worked to shore up buildings and clear debris from coastal areas in anticipation of flooding.
/VS/