HAVANA | Heavy rains, linked to the passage of Hurricane Agatha, hit several provinces of Cuba and the capital on Friday, with a provisional official toll of two dead, one missing and thousands of inhabitants without electricity.
• Read also: Hurricane Agatha: 11 dead and at least 33 missing in southern Mexico
“Intense and heavy rains, as well as thunderstorms, have affected the western and central regions of Cuba with accumulated precipitation exceeding 200 millimeters, and will continue the rest of the day on Friday and tomorrow Saturday,” said the Institute of Cuban meteorology (Insmet).
The phenomenon is due to the passage of Hurricane Agatha on Monday in Mexico, downgraded Tuesday to a tropical storm but which could reactivate as a hurricane in the coming days, as it exited the Atlantic, according to the Miami hurricane center. .
Several neighborhoods in the Cuban capital were affected, including Old Havana and downtown, where a 69-year-old man died and another was injured, state news portal Cubadebate reported.
The Civil Defense General Staff later reported another death in Havana province, without giving further details.
State media showed footage of rescuers evacuating residents in rowboats.
In the capital, 40 housing collapses have been recorded and around 400 residents have been evacuated, while nearly 2,000 others have left their homes on their own to seek shelter, authorities informed in a coordination meeting. relief chaired by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero.
A total of 50,000 customers in Havana province are without power, they said.
In the western province of Pinar del Rio, also affected by the floods, a passerby fell into a flooded river and, according to neighbors, was unable to get out, state media reported.
The rains “caused flooding from the province of Pinar del Rio to that of Sancti Spiritus (center) as well as in the island of Juventud (south)”, according to the Insmet.
The storm is expected to hit the Florida peninsula on Saturday.
Hurricane season begins on June 1 each year and ends on November 30 for the North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. The Meteorological Institute forecasts the formation of 17 hurricanes this season, more than the historical average of 14 per year between 1991 and 2020.
