The entire island of Cuba went dark Tuesday night as Hurricane Ian roared through the island, causing the electrical grid to fail for the 11 million people who live there.
The storm created winds that were going up to 125 miles per hour and heavy rain battered the island, killing at least two people, The New York Times reported.
Cuba’s western provinces face the most devastation from the storm, with videos from the town of Coloma that “showed people inside their homes with water up to their knees,” per The New York Times.
Electricity started returning slowly on Wednesday, after electric crews worked overnight to restore power, per The Washington Post.
“It’s a process that is going to take a while,” Lázaro Guerra Hernández, Electrical Union of Cuba chief, said on state television, per The Washington Post.
CNN correspondent Patrick Oppmann tweeted a video showing the severe flooding in Havana.
The malecón right now as I drive home. pic.twitter.com/fGiUYPwnlK
— Patrick Oppmann CNN (@CNN_Oppmann) September 28, 2022
Ana Julia Gomez, a 56-year-old Cuban resident living in Pinar del Rio, told Reuters, “I’ve never seen anything like this. I lost everything; nothing is left.”
Hurricane Ian is predicted to make landfall in Florida, and more than 2.5 million residents are being told to evacuate to avoid the storm’s impact, per the Deseret News.