This is the second such incident in recent weeks – previously, when Hurricane Oscar passed through Cuba, there was also a nationwide power outage on the island, leaving millions of Cubans without access to electricity for four days.
Hurricane Rafael hits Cuba: 70 thousand Cubans evacuated
Now, after Hurricane Rafael hit the island, accompanied by wind gusts reaching speeds of up to 185 km per hour, the state-owned energy company issued a statement stating that “strong winds (…) caused the national power grid to go offline.”
At least 70 thousand Cubans were evacuated from their homes due to the Category 3 hurricane that hit the coast of Cuba. Warnings were issued about possible flooding and landslides.
Rafael reached the coast of the western province of Artemisa, near the capital Havana, at around 4:15 p.m. local time, he said. US National Hurricane Center (NHC).