A massive power-outage hit Cuba yesterday when Hurricane Rafael knocked-out the islands electrical grid leaving millions in darkness. The storm brought 115-mph winds that damaged houses uprooted trees and destroyed power-lines
The Energy Ministry started power fixes in eastern regions but western Cuba (which got hit hardest) faces a longer wait. Jose Martinez‚ the ministrys spokesman said theyʼre working non-stop to fix the system; however most of Havanaʼs 2 million people dont have power yet
This is the second big storm in less than a month after Hurricane Oscar hit eastern Cuba few weeks ago. The power-grid was already having problems due to old plants and less oil coming from other countries. Before these storms many areas had daily black-outs
- 220‚000 people moved to safe places
- No deaths reported
- Airport opened at noon yesterday
- Schools stay closed till monday
Artemisa province known as the food-growing region got hit badly. Local farms lost lots of crops including:
- Banana plants
- Yucca fields
- Beans and corn
- Rice plantations
The situation is unbelievable - if we had problems before now its going to be much worse
The storm moved into Gulf of Mexico and doesnt threaten land anymore according to U.S Hurricane Center