The intense rains of the last hours have already left three dead in Cuba, as well as 60 partially collapsed buildings, some 11,000 clients without electricity and more than 2,000 evacuees, according to state media reports.
One of the deceased, according to a note published this Friday afternoon by Granma, was due to the total collapse of a building. The other death was caused by an accident in a flood zone.
El sistema de bajas presiones continurá afectando con intensas lluvias las regiones occidental y central del país pic.twitter.com/WmPB3Xd9zq
— Defensa Civil Cuba (@CubaCivil) June 4, 2022
In addition, a third victim was reported in the province of Pinar del Río. Based on information from the Provincial Government, his body was found lifeless near the ESPA in the Diez de Octubre neighborhood, an area where he fell into a flooded stream. Also reported from this province is the disappearance of another citizen, in the municipality of Minas de Matahambre.
Havana, like the rest of western and central Cuba, is suffering from the remnants of Hurricane Agatha, which has left nine dead in Mexico. More than 100 millimeters have been registered in the capital. Only in the capital ― with 2.2 million inhabitants ― there had been 61 partially collapsed buildings, 445 evacuated and 1,914 self-evacuated (in the houses of family and friends), according to data from Orestes Llanes Mestre, coordinator of the Government of Havana, in the Mesa Redonda TV program.
The overflow of the Almendares River ― on its way through the Plaza de la Revolución municipality of Havana ― forced the evacuation of some 600 residents of the El Fanguito community, who were transferred to the municipal Palace of Pioneers, located in that neighborhood, reported the EFE news agency.
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The president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH), Antonio Rodríguez, explained that since this Friday morning more than 100 millimeters (mm) had fallen in Havana and warned that in the next few hours the rainfall could intensify at some points.
Floods were also reported in the Centro Habana, Diez de Octubre and Cerro municipalities, and even in the latter dozens of people have been evacuated in lifeboats by rescuers.
The Electricity Conglomerate also gave an account of the work it is carrying out to restore the service in 23 damaged circuits, which represents 7% of the total in the province, some 50,000 clients, although the effects at 6:00 a.m. this Saturday involved less than 12,000 clients, according to a television report.
Cuban authorities have already warned about this meteorological phenomenon, which according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) continues to strengthen and may become the first tropical storm in the Atlantic this season.
The forecasts of the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (INSMET) anticipate that the intense rains will continue, which could be accompanied by winds.
The latest report of the Forecast Center warned that on Saturday it will be mostly cloudy in the western and central regions of Cuba, with showers, rains and some electrical storms that will be strong and locally intense.
It also indicated that rainfall will gradually decrease as of the afternoon in the west, and in the eastern region it will be partially cloudy, with isolated rains.
EFE/OnCuba
