- Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba as a category three hurricane. The phenomenon continues to strengthen as it moves towards Florida.
The passage of Hurricane Ian left great damage, flooding and massive power outages in Cuba.
Cuban authorities reported that a blackout has left the entire island without electricity.
The Matanzas Electric Company also confirmed the blackout and said that they are working to try to solve the problem. The restoration will be a slow process that can take 6 to 8 hours, the company said.
“The National Electric System has an exceptional condition, 0 electricity generation (without electricity service in the country), this complicated condition is associated with the complex weather conditions that have affected the infrastructure of the National Electric System,” the Electric Union of Cuba.
“Currently, work is being done continuously on the reconnection of the system, the work will continue during the night of today, Tuesday, and early morning, Wednesday,” reported Lázaro Guerra, the firm’s technical director.
According to the official Juventud Rebelde media, the decision was given at 5:57 p.m. local time. He also added that the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, one of the largest generators in the country, “went out of the system and cannot synchronize.”
Blackouts, due to failures in outdated power plants, lack of fuel and scheduled maintenance, have been long and frequent for months in Cuba. However, at no point in the current energy crisis has there been a simultaneous blackout across the country.
For its part, Venezuela announced that it will send aid to Cuba to support the country in the face of the considerable material damage caused by Hurricane Ian, as announced by President Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro, who lamented the disaster caused by the meteorological phenomenon, conveyed his solidarity and support to the Cuban government and people, after 50,000 people had to be evacuated, and land and sea transport was suspended.