Cuba without power as storm hits

Cuba has suffered a nationwide blackout as Hurricane Rafael brings winds of up to 185km/h (115mph) to the Caribbean island.

A statement from the country’s national energy company said “strong winds caused by the major hurricane Rafael caused the shutdown of the national electricity system”.

At least 70,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as the category-three storm made landfall on Wednesday evening with warnings of storm surges, flash flooding, and mudslides.

It comes just weeks after millions were left without power for four days following a blackout caused by issues with the country’s creaking energy infrastructure. The incident also coincided with Hurricane Oscar, which killed at least six people.

Rafael made landfall in the western province of Artemisa, near capital Havana, at around 16:15 local time (21:15 GMT), the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The NHC said the storm would bring heavy rains across western Cuba through Thursday and that storm surges could pose a danger to life.

Rafael is expected to weaken slightly as it crosses the island but to still be a hurricane when it emerges into the Gulf of Mexico.

Heavy rains are also expected in the Cayman Islands, while a tropical storm warning is in force in the Florida Keys.

Last month, around 10 million people in Cuba were left without power following a blackout caused by maintenance issues and a lack of fuel to run power stations.

That blackout also coincided with Hurricane Oscar, a less powerful category one storm that left a trail of destruction along the island’s north-eastern coast.

The worst-affected area was the eastern province of Guantánamo, where more than 1,000 homes were damaged by heavy rains and strong winds.

British tourist Klara Kszczotek said she was not worried about the impact of Hurricane Rafael.

“I guess we are not really scared, because we are watching the news and so on, so for now I think we are fine,” she said.