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Cuba slowly brings back power after hurricane, Havana still dark

Cuban authorities stated they had started bring back power to the eastern half of the island on Thursday, a day after Typhoon Rafael knocked out the nation's electrical grid, leaving 10 million individuals in the dark.

The grid collapsed on Wednesday as Rafael tore throughout Cuba with top winds of more than 115 mph (185 kph), harmful homes, rooting out trees and falling telephone poles.

The typhoon had spun off westward into the Gulf of Mexico where it no longer presented an immediate danger to land, the Miami-based U.S. National Typhoon Center stated.

Rafael was the most recent blow to the Communist-run nation's. currently precarious electrical grid, which just two weeks ago. collapsed multiple times, leaving many in the country without. power for days and stimulating scattered demonstrations throughout the. island.

The Energy and Mines Ministry stated on Thursday afternoon it. was making progress bring back power to pockets of central and. eastern Cuba, however warned the process would be slower in western. parts of the island, which were hardest hit by the storm.

Havana, the capital city of 2 million, was still without. power late in the day on Thursday, and authorities had not said. when it would be brought back.

The country's decrepit oil-fired generation plants have. struggled to keep the lights on for years, but this year the. system collapsed into crisis as oil imports dropped off from. allied nations Venezuela, Russia and Mexico.

Rafael was the 2nd cyclone to strike the island in less. than a month after Oscar damaged eastern Cuba in October, a. one-two punch that was sapping more resources in a nation. already suffering scarcities of food, fuel and medicine.

Rolling blackouts lasting hours had actually become the norm across. much of Cuba even before the 2 storms struck.

Skies had actually lightened up across Havana by late in the day on. Thursday. Roadway teams and homeowners worked to clear downed tree. limbs, trash and particles that blocked lots of streets, though most. stores, banks and the majority of state companies stayed closed.

More than 220,000 people were left from low-lying and. vulnerable locations, authorities stated, and a lot of had actually gone back to their. homes on Thursday. Nobody passed away as an outcome of the storm.

Officials re-opened Havana's airport at twelve noon. Schools would. stay closed up until Monday, authorities said.

Rafael grazed the Cayman Islands as a Classification 1 cyclone on. the five-step Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale before increasing. strength in less than 24 hours to the much more powerful. Category 3 that made landfall on Cuba's southwestern coast.

BREAD BASKET

Artemisa province, a farm province called Havana's bread. basket, took the brunt of the effect from the typhoon. Violent. winds flattened several high stress power lines along the. area's primary highway. Downed trees littered streets in. the provincial capital.

The storm tore throughout farm fields simply as the winter. planting season was getting under method, damaging thousands of. hectares (acres) of banana plants, yucca, beans, corn and rice,. according to farming authorities.

Heavy winds and rain prompted authorities to protectively. harvest ripening vegetables and fruits instead of take a total. loss.

You have to see it to believe it, stated Rosa Martinez, a. 62-year-old local of the close-by town of Toledo.

She stated food was already scarce and too expensive.

If we were having problem before, now its going to be even. even worse, that much I'm sure of..

(source: Reuters)