In brief
Cuba’s energy infrastructure is put to the test once again as Hurricane Rafael leads to widespread blackouts and evacuations while threatening further devastating weather conditions.
Cuba was thrust into darkness on Wednesday as Hurricane Rafael made landfall, unleashing winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) across the island. The national energy company reported that the fierce winds prompted a complete shutdown of the electricity system, triggering a nationwide blackout. In preparation for the storm, authorities evacuated over 70,000 residents from their homes, with warnings of significant storm surges, flash floods, and mudslides swarming the area.This latest catastrophe follows a harrowing blackout just weeks prior that left millions powerless for four consecutive days due to the country’s fragile energy grid. That outage coincided with Hurricane Oscar, which claimed at least six lives. Rafael made its landfall in the western province of Artemisa, close to the capital, Havana, around 16:15 local time (21:15 GMT). Unión Eléctrica’s spokesperson stated that engineers would need to assess the aftermath of the storm before determining its impact on power stations and the wider electricity grid. By 22:00, Hurricane Rafael had moved into the Gulf of Mexico, downgraded to a category two hurricane with winds reaching 169 km/h. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported heavy rainfall would continue to batter western Cuba through Thursday, raising lif-threatening concerns as storm surges loom large. Meanwhile, the Cayman Islands brace for heavy rains, and a tropical storm warning is in effect in the Florida Keys. Cuba's ongoing struggle with its energy infrastructure raises critical questions about the island’s capacity to withstand natural disasters. Just last month, that situation was laid bare when a blackout left around 10 million inhabitants without electricity following maintenance issues and fuel shortages that hampered power generation. The eastern province of Guantánamo bore the brunt of that storm, with more than 1,000 homes severely affected by torrential rains and powerful winds.
