HAVANA, OCT 21 – Typhoon Oscar hit Cuba yesterday afternoon, as most of the country’s population experienced a power outage that lasted more than 50 hours, reported the German news agency, dpa.
The United States National Hurricane Center reported that the hurricane hit the northeast coast of Cuba as a Category One hurricane, with the Bahamas also feeling the effects.
The blackout in Cuba began on Friday morning, when the country’s aging power grid failed, knocking out power to most of the country.
Although electricity was restored in some areas of Havana on Saturday afternoon, it was cut off again after just six hours.
Cuba’s Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O Levi, stated that efforts are underway to gradually restore electricity by tomorrow.
However, conditions remain challenging after strong winds affected several power plants, forcing authorities to restart the grid several times.
Although countries like Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Russia and Barbados have offered help, none has arrived so far.
The Cuban government suspended all non-essential administrative duties in the wake of the hurricane. – Named
