Hurricane Ian leaves Cuba dark, prompts Florida evacuations
Cuba’s electrical grid has collapsed, leaving the country of 11 million people without power, after Hurricane Ian tore through the western end of the island.
Thousands were evacuated ahead of the violent storm, which made landfall early on Tuesday in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province where much of the tobacco used for its cigars is grown, Qazet.az reports.
Lázaro Guerra, technical director of the Electric Union of Cuba, said a failure in the national electric system, partly as a result of the storm, had affected the power network.
Guerra said teams would work through the night and early on Wednesday to restore power, according to state media.
Cuban residents described “destruction” and posted images on social media of flooded streets and trees brought down by ferocious winds. At the time of impact, the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported Ian’s maximum wind speed at 205km/h (127mph) and said there were “significant wind and storm surge impacts”.
State media said Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the affected region.