Cuba left reeling after Category 3 hurricane ravages island and knocks out power grid

Date:

Share post:


HAVANA (AP) — Cuba was left reeling Thursday after a fierce Category 3 hurricane ripped across the island and knocked out the country’s power grid.

The magnitude of the impact remained unclear through the early hours of the day, but forecasters warned that Hurricane Rafael could bring “life-threatening” storm surges, winds and flash floods to Cuba after ravaging parts of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.

On Wednesday evening, massive waves lashed at Havana’s shores as sharp winds and rain whipped at the historic cityscape, leaving trees littered on flooded roads. Much of the city was dark and deserted.

As it plowed across Cuba, the storm slowed to a Category 2 hurricane chugging into the Gulf of Mexico near northern Mexico and southern Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

But many Cubans were left picking up the pieces from the night before, with a strange sense of déjà vu after a rocky few weeks in the Caribbean nation.

In October, the island was hit by a one-two punch. First, Cuba was roiled by stretching island-wide blackouts stretching on for days, a product of the island’s energy crisis. Shortly after, it was slapped by another powerful hurricane that killed at least six people in the eastern part of the island.

It stoked discontent already simmering in Cuba amid an ongoing economic crisis, which has pushed many to migrate from Cuba.

While the State Department issued a travel warning for Cuba because of the story, the Cuban government also raised an alarm, asking citizens to hunker down.

Classes and public transport were suspended on parts of the island and authorities canceled flights in and out of Havana and Varadero. Thousands of people in the west of the island were evacuated as a preventative measure, and many more like Silvia Pérez, a 72-year-old retiree living in a coastal area of Havana, scrambled to prepare.

“This is a night I don’t want to sleep through, between the battering air and the trees,” Pérez said. “I’m scared for my friends and family.”

The concern came after the storm knocked out power in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, where it also unleased flooding and landslides.

Rafael is the 17th named storm of the season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the 2024 hurricane season was likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast called for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.



Source link

Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams is a writer and editor. Angeles. She writes about politics, art, and culture for LinkDaddy News.

Recent posts

Related articles

Former Myrtle Beach pastor John-Paul Miller arrested. Here’s what we know

The former pastor of a Myrtle Beach church has been arrested after an apparent disturbance in the...

Bristol takes on van dwellers with large planters amid increased complaints

Britain's 'van dweller capital' is stopping them parking by installing large planters - amid reports of rising...

A tiny grain of nuclear fuel is pulled from ruined Japanese nuclear plant, in a step toward cleanup

TOKYO (AP) — A robot that has spent months inside the ruins of a nuclear reactor at...

2024 will be world's hottest on record – EU scientists

STORY: :: November 6, 2024:: Terrassa, Spain::EU scientists warn 2024is set to be the world's hottest year::...

I Spent Weeks Near Death In The ICU. Asking My Doctors To Do This One Thing May Have Saved My Life.

What’s your name? Taylor Coffman.Do you know where you are? The hospital.What is the date? February 17,...

Woman Says Partner Didn’t Ask Before Letting Son Invite Friends Over While She Recovered from Major Surgery

"His response was that he didn't think it would affect me and he just forgot to mention...

Child, 12, among the five killed in a plane crash shortly after takeoff

A 12-year-old boy was among five people killed after a small jet crashed moments after take-off in...

Jackson bribery scandal: Mayor Lumumba indicted, calls it 'political prosecution'

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba announced Wednesday that he has been indicted as part of the Jackson...