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.
The Energy and Mines Ministry reported on Wednesday that it had restored power to three locations by activating two huge power plants in Felton and Nuevitas, and was trying to restore power to others.
The capital, Havana, and other areas of western Cuba were without power on Wednesday as a result of the hurricane that had reached Florida and moved northward.
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).
On September 27, 2022, in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, people walk by a fallen electric transformer. 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.
Mercedes Valdés, who lives near the highway between Pinar del Ro and San Juan y Martnez, said, “I spent the hurricane at home with my husband and our dog. The masonry and zinc roof of our home had just been installed, but the storm tore it down.” “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 Florida. After striking Cuba, it continued to develop as it churned northward in the Gulf of Mexico, where the warm waters allowed it to quickly strengthen.