Published 11/08/2024 12:17
Cuba’s energy situation continues to be under attention. Last Wednesday (6) the country was hit by Hurricane Rafael, previously predicted as a storm. The strong winds caused the country’s electrical system to be affected, on the other hand, the Cuban government highlighted that the strong preparation to face the hurricane prevented a tragedy.
On his network X, the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, highlighted that the hurricane did not cause deaths, as it encountered the “formidable wall of the organization”.
“The violent gusts of wind from Hurricane Rafael met the formidable wall of the organization, the coordinated action of the factors and the insurmountable solidarity of our people. Although it destroyed a lot of things, it didn’t leave anyone dead or missing,” said Canel.
The president visited the most affected provinces: Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana. The delegation took stock of the recovery in these locations. Of the country’s 15 provinces, 9 were affected.
As a precaution, thousands of Cubans in the hurricane’s path were evacuated from their homes to shelters and other safe locations.
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Across the country, the winds caused power to be turned off for almost the entire population, around 10 million inhabitants out of a total of 11 million.
According to the Cuban Ministry of Mines and Energy and the state-owned Unión Eléctrica, when winds from Hurricane Rafael reached 60 km/h, a controlled shutdown of the distribution circuits was carried out, to avoid accidents and failures in the electrical networks. Information shows that the winds reached more than triple the limit for controlled interruption: 185 km/h.
The company states that the preparedness and response measures adopted included “the suspension of electrical service in the affected areas to prevent further damage and ensure the safety of citizens.”
At the moment the focus is on the gradual resumption of energy and recovery of affected infrastructures.
Electrical energy
The island’s energy situation is under government attention. At the end of October, the Cubans dealt with a four-day blackout due to a failure at the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant. Then, the country faced Hurricane Oscar, which left 8 people dead.
On that occasion, the Brazilian government responded to a request from the Cuban government and sent supplies and medicines to support the population affected by the disaster caused by Hurricane Oscar. The shipments were organized by the Ministry of Health in a shipment that serves, in total, 4,500 people for a period of one month.
The tragic experience with Hurricane Oscar made preparations for this new extreme weather event (Rafael), in a very short time, more intense. Despite this, plantations were affected, landslides occurred and some areas require drainage.
Source: vermelho.org.br
