4th night without electricity

Six fatalities after storm in eastern Cuba

(Bild: APA/ Associated Press)

Hurricane "Oscar" has caused at least six deaths and severe damage in eastern Cuba. In the province of Guantánamo, entire areas were flooded and rescue workers were unable to reach the affected areas, said President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

According to the authorities, at least 1,000 houses were damaged. In addition, the socialist-ruled Caribbean island with around ten million inhabitants was largely in the dark for the fourth night in a row.

A street vendor goes about his business by the light of a flashlight.(Bild: APA/Associated Press)

Only a third of the power supply restored
Cuba's completely ailing power grid collapsed on Friday. According to the President, only a good third of the electricity supply has been restored nationwide. In the capital Havana, around 90 percent of connections have electricity again. As the storm damage was added to the emergency situation, Díaz-Canel canceled his planned participation in the summit meeting of the so-called Brics states in the Russian city of Kazan.

"Oscar" had hit Cuba as a hurricane at the weekend and was then downgraded to a weaker tropical storm as it moved across the powerless island. According to the US hurricane center, the storm is still causing heavy rainfall in eastern Cuba and the southwest of the Bahamas.