Hurricane Rafael Slams Into Cuba, Knocking Out Power Grid

HAVANA, Cuba – Hurricane Rafael, a powerful Category 3 storm, slammed into Cuba on Wednesdays knocking out the country’s power grid after ravaging sections of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. 

As it plowed across Cuba, the storm slowed to a Category 2 hurricane then entered into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

On Thursday the Miami based National Hurricane  Centre said Rafael’s center was about 200 miles west-northwest of Havana, Cuba and 215 miles west of Key West.

Traveling northwest at fairly slow pace, the storm’s maximum sustained winds had dropped to 100 miles per hour.

Some 10 million people were without power across the country Thursday as the authorities struggled to restore electricity.
The country’s state-run media said it had returned power to some areas but that the capital city of Havana largely remained in the dark.

Rafael is the fifth major hurricane of the year in the Atlantic and the strongest this late in the year since 2020.