Havana gradually restores power

Eighty-five per cent of the capital's residents have electricity today, while the deployment of forces and means to fully restore the service continues, Havana's electricity company has assured.

According to the company, this percentage represents the supply of electricity to some 732,116 Havana customers whose service was interrupted on Wednesday afternoon by the strong winds of Hurricane Rafael that caused severe damage in the capital’s power grid.

The hurricane, which hit the west of the island, made landfall in Artemisa, some 65 kilometers west of Havana, as a category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, causing significant damage in both provinces and in nearby Mayabeque.

According to Havana Electricity Company officials, 82 per cent of primary distribution circuits have power and restoration is progressing rapidly in five municipalities with the help of seven contingents from the provinces of Granma, Holguín, Las Tunas, Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba (east), Santi Spiritus (centre) and Matanzas (west).

President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the day before that ‘Cuba is on its feet and has received many signs of solidarity from within and from other nations of the world’, after visiting municipalities affected by Hurricane Rafael in this capital.

The President highlighted the broad participation of the people, led by young people, students and the armed forces, as a sign of national unity in the face of adversity, contrary to the image of discouragement being spread by some international media, he said.

Speaking to the press, he expressed his gratitude for the support shown to the island by several countries, including Russia and Venezuela, as well as the organization of the United Nations system and the European Union, which have sent resources to help those affected and to deal with the national electricity crisis.