Hurricane Rafael Triggers Nationwide Blackout in Cuba as Storm Batters the Island

 

Cuba's national power grid collapsed on Wednesday as Hurricane Rafael, a formidable Category 3 storm, made landfall on the island's southwest coast. Union Eléctrica, Cuba’s national power provider, confirmed the outage, citing “strong winds from the powerful Hurricane Rafael” that had disrupted the national electrical system and activated contingency protocols.

In advance of the hurricane’s landfall, Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines had conducted “controlled disconnections” of power circuits to reduce the risk of damage and power cuts. Shortly after, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported that the storm made landfall in Artemisa Province, bringing dangerous storm surges, hurricane-force winds, and flash flooding.

This blackout follows close on the heels of Hurricane Oscar, which three weeks earlier caused a four-day nationwide blackout after damaging the island's largest power plant amidst a fuel crisis. Sporadic outages have continued since, with Cuban citizens voicing frustration online. Some noted that Cuba’s power grid had withstood stronger hurricanes, such as 2017's Hurricane Irma. “This announcement is obviously for Havana; the rest of us haven’t had power for days,” one resident commented.

Hurricane Rafael has prompted cyclone alerts for nine provinces in western and central Cuba, including Havana. So far, over 70,000 residents have been evacuated, primarily from Guantánamo in the east, where Hurricane Oscar tragically claimed eight lives last month. Authorities expect the storm to pass between Soroa and Las Terrazas, a UNESCO biosphere reserve established as a model community post-revolution.

In Havana, intense winds and torrential rain have added to the city’s already crumbling infrastructure, with gusts of 115 km/h (71.6 mph) recorded in the Casablanca neighborhood. As masonry crashes to the ground, local residents struggle to stay informed. “I didn’t know what to expect with a Category 3 hurricane,” said a farmer in Rafael’s path. “I don’t think everyone was really prepared.”

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced on Tuesday that the national defense council had been activated, mobilizing military resources to respond to the storm’s impact. “We have taken measures across the nation to protect our people and resources,” Díaz-Canel shared on X. “As we have always done, we will overcome this situation.”

The storm’s reach extended beyond Cuba. It caused power outages and severe flooding in Jamaica and disrupted power across the Cayman Islands, where schools remained closed on Wednesday. Although conditions improved in Grand Cayman, residents were advised to exercise caution due to rough seas and flooding risks.

Looking ahead, forecasters predict Hurricane Rafael will weaken as it moves northward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rain to Florida and the southeastern U.S. by late in the week. The National Hurricane Center projects storm surges of up to 3 feet in Florida’s Dry Tortugas and up to 2 feet in the Lower Keys, with warnings in place for coastal residents.