Hurricane Rafael crashes into Cuba triggering island-wide power blackout

Cuba has been plunged into acheronian aft Hurricane Rafael slammed into the land arsenic a Category 3 tempest with sustained winds of 115mph (185kph).

The country's energy relation UNE said precocious winds had caused the energy grid to collapse.

State-run TV reported the full colonisation of 10 cardinal radical was without powerfulness - portion of a bid of blackouts which person plagued the Caribbean island successful caller weeks.

Rafael lashed Cuba's superior Havana precocious connected Wednesday afternoon, with upwind and rainfall bringing down trees and powerfulness lines successful the city.

The US-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) warned of a "life-threatening tempest surge, damaging hurricane-force winds and flash flooding" crossed overmuch of occidental Cuba.

Schools and nationalist transport successful the metropolis were suspended and flights were grounded, portion constabulary with loudspeakers began circling neighbourhoods encouraging radical to shelter.

Last period Cuba suffered a full illness of its nationalist electrical grid, leaving an estimated 10 cardinal radical without powerfulness for respective days.

That coincided with Hurricane Oscar making landfall astir the aforesaid time.

Cuba's oil-fired powerfulness plants person struggled to unafraid captious lipid imports from Venezuela, Russia and Mexico.

Rafael brushed past the Cayman Islands arsenic a Category 1 hurricane earlier expanding to a overmuch much almighty Category 3 tempest disconnected the southwest of Cuba.

The astir caller update from the NHC said it had weakened to class 2, with maximum sustained winds of astir 105mph (170km) disconnected the northwestern seashore of Cuba.

Forecasters person predicted 4 to 8in (10 to 20cm) of rainfall crossed parts of occidental Cuba and up to 12in (30cm) connected higher ground, bringing the hazard of flash flooding and mudslides.

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Rain and beardown winds person besides affected the Florida Keys.

Forecasters foretell Rafael volition rotation disconnected towards the occidental Gulf of Mexico implicit the adjacent fewer days, though the way remains uncertain.