Source: CCTV News Client
Hurricane "Ian" made landfall in western Cuba in the early morning of the 27th, and the entire territory of Cuba lost power late that night. The Cuban Electricity Union, the national power supplier, has stepped up efforts to repair the grid in order to gradually restore power to the country's population of some 11.3 million.
The power grid is paralyzed
Hurricane Ian made landfall on the 27th in the ancient Brazilian coastal province of Binardério. That night, several western provinces first lost power, and the entire power grid was subsequently paralyzed.
Before the "Ian" landed, for the sake of prevention, the province of Binardério took the initiative to cut off the power supply in the province and evacuated tens of thousands of people from low-lying areas near the sea.
The capital, Havana, was not spared. As of 8 p.m. local time on the 27th, the city was almost dark, and only a few large hotels that mainly received tourists were lit up by backup generators.
"Hurricane Ian crossed the border and the power system was already operating in complex conditions. There is currently no electricity supply anywhere in the country. Lazaro Guerra, technical director of the Cuban Electric Power Union, said on the 27th.
Cuba's power system is old, and there have been frequent power outages in many parts of Cuba in recent months. Hurricane Ian made matters worse.
The damage was severe
The province of Pinardério, where "Ian" landed, was the hardest hit, and the streets of the capital, the city of Pinardírio, were in a mess. Mayerine Suarez, a vendor selling ice cream, told Reuters that the night the hurricane crossed left her with "the darkest night of her life." "The roof of my house was almost blown off, and I tied it with rope with my daughter and husband so I didn't let it fly away."
The storm destroyed many houses and infrastructure in the province, and the tobacco plantations that produced Cuba's famous brand "Rowaina" cigars were not spared. Iroshi Rowaina, the current director of Rowaina Plantations, posted photos of the plantation's damage on social media, saying it was "really a natural disaster."
The province of Binardério is mostly rural and sparsely populated, but it is a major producer of crops and tobacco. Cuban media reported that before the hurricane, local growers stockpiled 33,000 tons of previously harvested tobacco. However, many farm buildings are made of blades of grass and wood, and the wind blows everywhere.
Awell Hernandez, a 49-year-old tobacco grower, said hurricanes had passed since and from time to time, but never so severely, and that "our houses, drying silos, farms, fruit trees were all destroyed."
In the neighbouring province of Artemisa, media reported that about 40 percent of banana plantations were damaged by hurricanes.
Large numbers of people on the West Coast had evacuated before the hurricane made landfall, and the damage to people and property remained to be assessed. According to Cuban state media, the storm has killed at least two people in the western region.
"Ian" will next attack Florida, the southeastern United States, across the sea from Cuba. The U.S. National Hurricane Center predicts that Ian will have stronger winds as he passes through the Gulf of Mexico. It is approaching the southwest coast of Florida, where the local government has ordered the evacuation of 2.5 million people.