Hurricane Ian has left homes destroyed, flooded and massive power cuts in its path through the western part of Cuba.
On the followingnoon of this Tuesday, the Cuban authorities reported that a blackout has left the entire island without electricity.
“The National Electric System has an exceptional condition, 0 electricity generation (Without electricity service in the country), this complicated condition is associated with the complex weather conditions that have affected the infrastructure of the National Electric System,” the Cuban Electric Union said in a statement.
“The fault is given in the western, central and eastern links, it is a complex process that works with precision to restore it and the electrical system will be gradually restored between tonight and early tomorrow morning,” said the state electric company.
It had previously been reported that al least one person died from the effects of the cyclone. She is a 43-year-old woman whose house collapsed.
The category 3 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson scale made landfall on the island in the early hours of Tuesday and hours later went out to sea once more towards the west of the Florida peninsula, in the United States.
Ian left in Cuba sustained winds of up to 185 km/h and gusts that they reached over 200 km/h in some points, according to the records of the Institute of Meteorology (Insmet).
The province of Pinar del Río, in the extreme west of the country, was the most affected with “considerable damage,” the Cuban presidential office reported via Twitter.
there were produced damage to homes and businessesTrees fell and roads were cut, according to authorities, although specific damage assessments have not yet been published.
The images that circulate in the official media and social networks they testify to Ian’s virulencewith destroyed roofs, trees and structures that give way to the force of the wind and floods in several locations.
Image of the floods caused by the hurricane in Batabano, Cuba.
Some 50,000 people were evacuated, most of them in Pinar del Río province.
The Cuban authorities announced that they have prepared response brigades to go from other provinces to the western region and try to restore electricity and communication services.
In Havana, one of the six provinces under cyclonic alert, there have been moderate rain with some intense gusts and electricity has been cut in some parts of the city.
A father carries his children in Pinar del Río following the passage of the hurricane.
Forecasts indicate that Ian will continue to gain strength as it heads across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida, where mandatory evacuations have already begun.
It is forecast to hit the west coast of Florida on Wednesday.
