Hurricane Rafael, a Category 3 storm, has caused a widespread blackout across Cuba after making landfall on the island’s south-west coast on Wednesday. The national power company, Union Eléctrica, confirmed that strong winds from the hurricane led to the disconnection of the national electrical grid, prompting the implementation of contingency protocols.
Before the storm made landfall in the western province of Artemisa, the energy and mines ministry had announced plans to conduct a “controlled disconnection” of power circuits to prevent accidents and avoid further damage. This power outage follows a series of disruptions after Hurricane Oscar struck the island three weeks ago, leading to a four-day blackout caused by the failure of Cuba’s largest power plant. The island has since experienced intermittent outages.
Rafael’s impact has been severe, bringing life-threatening storm surges, hurricane-force winds, and flash flooding. In the capital, Havana, residents reported the storm battering the city with 115km/h winds, rain, and falling debris. Nine provinces, including Havana, have been placed on cyclone alert, and more than 70,000 people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas, particularly in Guantánamo, which saw deadly flooding from Hurricane Oscar.
The storm also knocked out power in parts of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands earlier this week. As Rafael moves towards the Gulf of Mexico, heavy rainfall and storm surges are expected to affect Florida and surrounding regions by late this week.