The Cuban Government has recognized this Wednesday in your first damage assessment after Hurricane Rafael passing through the west of the island with category 3 (out of five) on the Saffir-Simpson scale that The effects on housing, infrastructure and agriculture have been “very strong.”
The cyclone made landfall at 4:20 p.m. local time (22:20 GMT) on the southern coast of the province of Artemisa and left Cuban territory more than two hours later on the northern coast of Pinar del Río.
The Meteorological Institute (Insmet) of Cuba measured winds of up to 185 kilometers per hour and recorded intense rains, up to 200 millimeters (or liters per square meter).
The president of the country, Miguel Díaz-Canel, wrote on social networks at the end of a meeting of the National Defense Council that they have registered “major damage in Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana”three western provinces.
He also announced that he plans to visit “the territories most impacted by the hurricane” starting this Thursday. “A new recovery process is already beginning,” he said.
For his part, the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, added in a special intervention on state television that the damage has been “very strong in housing, infrastructure and agriculture.”
He also explained that the total blackout that this cyclone has caused in the country, the second event of “zero national energy coverage” in just two weeks, is yet to be evaluated due to inclement weather.
To the technical complexity of reestablishing the National Electric Service (SEN), we must add the physical repair of cables and poles damaged by strong winds, explained in this regard on social networks the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Mined), who It took “time” for recovery.
“Work is underway on the creation of electrical subsystems in the center and east of Cuba. In the west this process will be slower, the necessary electrical lines and installations must be reviewed,” said the Mined.
Marrero concluded his speech by saying: “Rest assured, we will recover and we will get ahead. Until victory always!”
Rafael has affected more than four million Cubans and its damage will begin to be visible starting this Thursday.
This is the second hurricane to make landfall in Cuba so far this year. The previous one, Óscar, passed through the northeastern tip of the island a little over two weeks ago and left 8 dead, 12,000 homes damaged, and 13,000 hectares of crops damaged.