Hurricane Rafael Causes Nationwide Power Outage in Cuba: Power Company

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Hurricane Rafael knocked out power across Cuba on Wednesday as it ravaged the island, which was still reeling from a recent blackout and an earlier severe storm, the state power utility said.

“Strong winds caused by Major Hurricane Rafael led to the shutdown of the national electricity system,” the company Union Electrica wrote on X.

According to the National Hurricane Center in the United States, Rafael strengthened into a Category 3 major hurricane as it barreled toward the Caribbean island, where it was expected to make landfall in the next few hours.

The NHC said in an update at 2100 GMT that Rafael was 75 kilometers (about 45 miles) southwest of Havana and was expected to bring “a life-threatening storm surge with damaging hurricane-force winds and destructive waves.”

Wednesday's blackout comes two weeks after a four-day nationwide blackout caused by the failure of the island's largest power plant and a shortage of fuel to generate electricity.

This first blackout coincided with Hurricane Oscar, which killed eight people in Cuba.

According to local media, more than 70,000 people were evacuated from their homes in advance of Rafael's crackdown.

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