Tuesday, as a strong hurricane, Hurricane Ian crashed into the westernmost tip of Cuba, knocking out power throughout the country and destroying some of the country’s most valuable tobacco crops.
The Electric Union of Cuba stated in a statement that efforts were underway to gradually restore power to the country’s 11 million residents overnight. Approximately one million people originally lost power in the western provinces of Cuba, but eventually the entire grid failed.
Cuba has been grappling with severe economic crisis and regular power shortages in recent months before to Ian’s arrival. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the western part of the island, wreaking havoc in the province of Pinar del Ro, where much of the tobacco for Cuba’s famous cigars is grown.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated while others fled the area prior to the arrival of Hurricane Ian, which caused floods, property destruction, and the uprooting of trees. Tuesday evening, authorities were still examining the damage, but no casualties had been recorded.
La Robaina, one of the most important tobacco fields in Cuba, was ravaged by Ian’s winds.
The 27th of September, 2022, in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, a classic automobile passes by wreckage left by Hurricane Ian. Alexandre Meneghini / REUTERS
“It was apocalyptic, a true catastrophe,” said Hirochi Robaina, owner of the farm that bears his name and that his grandfather made famous around the world.
Robaina, who is also the proprietor of the cigar manufacturer Finca Robaina, uploaded images of destroyed wood-and-thatch roofs, greenhouses, and overturned wagons on social media.
According to state-run media, Cuban President Miguel Daz-Canel visited the devastated area.
According to the Cuban Meteorology Institute, Pinar del Ro was in the eye of the hurricane for an hour and a half.
Yusim Palacios, a resident of Pinar del Rio, pleaded with authorities for a roof and a mattress, stating, “Being in the hurricane was horrific, but we are alive.”
Officials had established 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 individuals, and taken precautions to protect crops, particularly tobacco.
The National Hurricane Center of the United States reported that Cuba saw “severe wind and storm surge impacts” when the hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph made landfall (205 kph).
People pass through a fallen power transformer in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on September 27, 2022, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Alexandre Meneghini / REUTERS
Local government station TelePinar tweeted photographs of collapsed ceilings and fallen trees at the city’s major hospital in Pinar del Rio. There were no recorded deaths.
“I spent the hurricane with my spouse and our dog at home. The house’s brick and zinc roof had recently been installed. But the hurricane destroyed it “Mercedes Valdés, a resident on the roadway between Pinar del Ro and San Juan y Martnez, made this statement. “We were unable to get our belongings since we ran out.”
El director del Hospital Abel Santamaría Cuadrado de #PinardelRío, Orestss Moya Álvarez informó que como consecuencia del paso del #HuracánIan se perciben serias afectaciones estructurales, in la impermeabilización de las cubiertas y en otros espacios del center. #PinardelRo image: https://twitter.com/utHum8YMn
— TelePinar (@TelePinar) September 27, 2022
Wednesday was predicted to be the day that Hurricane Ian makes landfall along the west coast of the Florida peninsula. As of Tuesday evening, the storm was still churning in the Gulf of Mexico, where the warm temperatures enabled it to quickly intensify.
According to the National Hurricane Center, around 8 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Hurricane Ian was located approximately 180 miles south-southwest of Punta Gorda, Florida, and 20 miles south-southwest of the Dry Tortugas. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and was moving north-northeast at 10 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane.