Cuba: Hurricane Oscar ensures power outages and floods

Cuba: Hurricane Oscar ensures power outages and floods

Kuba is currently faced with a critical situation after a massive power failure and the devastating effects of the Hurricane “Oscar” have heavily stressed the country's infrastructure. In the middle of these challenges, official bodies report that many households will receive electricity again after the nationwide power failure. Special progress was made in the western part of the Caribbean island, especially in Havana.

Minister of Energy Vicente de la O emphasized that almost 90 percent of the power supply in the province of Havana could be restored. The outdated power grid had previously collapsed on Friday morning, which led to a complete power failure. The current performance is only around 700 megawatts, which corresponds to a quarter of normal demand. This is worrying because Cuba suffered from a generation deficit before the failure, which often led to daily power outages of up to twelve hours.

critical location according to hurricane «Oscar»

The situation was further tightened by the hurricane "Oscar", who hit the island at the weekend. The storm had caused severe floods, especially in the east of Cuba, with cities such as Baracoa, Imías and Maisí. Official reports from the Cuban government state that around 1,000 houses were damaged by the storms. Civil protection measures are underway to evacuate affected residents from flooded areas.

The state newspaper “Granma” reported that due to the current crisis, activities that are not necessary are discontinued by at least Wednesday. This is regarded as a preventive measure to protect resources and to ensure the restoration of the basic services.

The catastrophic situation caused by the hurricane and the already critical energy crisis is a challenge for the communist country, which has been in one of the most severe economic crises since the 1959 revolution. Experts warn that the current measures will not be sufficient to cope with the consequences of these disasters in the long term.

Restoration of the power supply and infrastructure will continue to be a top priority, while the Cuban government is trying to navigate through this difficult phase. According to the population, it is now crucial how effectively the authorities react to the existing challenges and whether they are able to quickly improve the living conditions of the citizens.

For a detailed view of the current situation in Cuba and the developments related to the power failure as well as the hurricane "Oscar", see the report on www.nau.ch .