Power is gradually returning to Cuba on Wednesday, a day after a widespread blackout as the powerful Hurricane Ian passed through, killing two people and causing significant damage to the west of the island.

“She’s back!” Residents of Old Havana screamed, rushing to check the status of food stored in their freezers as power gradually returned to the Cuban capital.

“Work is being carried out in all affected municipalities in the western provinces, and an in-depth study of the lines is being carried out to determine and estimate the damage”, assures the public electricity company Union Electrica, the sole operator in this country. million inhabitants.

“An Electrical Imbalance”

According to Union Electrika, two high-voltage lines of the power network were down shortly after 5pm on Tuesday after cables snapped in the wind.

“This situation caused an electrical imbalance due to an excess of production in the western region and a production deficit in the central-eastern region, which caused the phenomenon of frequency instability in the two zones and, as a result, the total failure” of the network, the operator explains.

Michael Brennan, deputy director of the U.S. Hurricane Center, said Wednesday evening that the hurricane will remain in Florida for 24 hours. CNN.

“At this point, we expect it to weaken below hurricane strength overnight or early Thursday morning.”

The deputy director says hurricanes are expected to weaken 24 hours after hitting the coast, but residents are being asked to remain vigilant.

Our colleagues say more than 668,000 people in Florida are without power after Hurricane Ian passed. CNN Citing the site PowerOutage.us.

Lee County was the hardest hit, with more than 235,000 homes cut, the site says. Collier County has more than 99,000 customers.

Hurricane Ian is currently making landfall in Florida, according to the US Hurricane Center (NHC).

“Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, Florida as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 250 mph,” the center said on Twitter.

“My administration is on alert to help the people of Florida,” U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday as Hurricane Ian battered the state. “Citizens in potentially affected areas should follow the instructions of local authorities. Evacuate when ordered and prepare for the storm. Evacuation has already been requested,” he said. “Your safety is more important than anything else”.

The Saffir-Simpson scale was developed for hurricanes, “classified into 5 categories based on maximum wind strength and extent of damage”, Meteo France explains. Ian is a category 4 hurricane.

These categories are related to the pressure in the center of the cyclone. We are talking about Category 4 when the winds are between 209 and 251 mph.

In Florida, “trees are bending, starting to fall, telegraph poles are starting to fall since this morning, some of my family is already without power,” Venice (Florida) resident Alexander Navarro tells BFMTV. “Things are getting a bit intense”.

He’s in a house built to withstand hurricanes, but “we’re worried, it’s making a lot of noise and it’s anxiety-inducing, and we’re hoping we won’t be affected too much.”

Before Hurricane Ian hit Florida, its effects were already being felt, with very high winds and high waves.

Cuba was plunged into darkness Tuesday evening due to widespread power outages after damage to the power grid caused by Hurricane Ian, state power company Union Electrica said. The company wrote on Wednesday that it is still working to fix the damage.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday began a search for 23 migrants who went missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Florida as Hurricane Ian made landfall, the Border Patrol said.

Four Cuban migrants swam to shore after their boat capsized in bad weather. “Coast Guard Sector South East has launched a search and rescue operation for 23 persons,” read a tweet.

Florida was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Category 4 Hurricane Ian, which the U.S. Weather Service said was “rapidly intensifying” and could have “catastrophic” effects after it wreaked havoc in western Cuba.

At around 2 p.m. (8 p.m. in France), the American National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a warning of “catastrophic winds and flooding” in Florida.