The effects are due to the passage of Cyclone Agatha on Monday from Mexico, which degraded to a tropical storm on Tuesday but may intensify again in a cyclone in the following days, as it came out in the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami ( USA).
Heavy rains, attributed to the passage of Cyclone Agatha, hit several provinces and the Cuban capital on Friday, with the still provisional report released by the authorities talking about two dead, one missing and thousands of people without electricity.
“Heavy rains and thunderstorms have hit western and central Cuba, with precipitation totaling more than 200 millimeters, and will continue (…) on Saturday,” the Cuban Meteorological Institute (INSMET) said.
The effects are due to the passage of Cyclone Agatha on Monday from Mexico, which degraded to a tropical storm on Tuesday but may intensify again in a cyclone in the following days, as it came out in the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami ( USA).
Several neighborhoods in the Cuban capital have been hit by severe weather, including Old Havana and downtown, where a 69-year-old man was killed and another injured, according to the state-run Cubadebate news website.
Civil Protection later spoke of another death in the province of Havana, without giving further details.
State media broadcast images of rescue crews operating to evacuate residents by boat.
The capital was hit by 40 property collapses and some 400 people had to be evacuated from their homes, while another 2,000 were evacuated and taken to a shelter, a meeting of Prime Minister Manuel’s co-chair of rescue operations was announced.
A total of 50,000 people in Havana have no electricity, it was also reported.
In the province of Pinar del Rio (west), which was also hit by floods, a passer-by fell into an inflated river and according to locals could not get out, according to state media.
Tropical Storm Agatha is expected to hit Florida today.
The cyclone season begins on June 1 each year and generally ends on November 30 in the North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. The Cuban Institute of Meteorology forecasts 17 cyclones this year, more than the historical average of 14 per year from 1991 to 2020.
