Hurricane Rafael Hits Cuba Amid Economic Crisis

Hurricane Rafael hit Cuba on November 5 as a Category 3 storm. Strong winds caused the national power system to fail, leaving the island without electricity.

“The hurricane came around four o'clock and just ripped through everything. I don't even know how to explain it,” said Anayan Marroque.

“I felt like crying when I saw the mess the hurricane had made here. This country will need a few years to recover,” said Pastor de Diego.

“This was uninhabitable and the major roads were undrivable,” said Lázaro Noa.

Artemisa bore the brunt of the hurricane's impact. The wind knocked down several high-voltage power lines.

“The workers from the electrical company came from other provinces to work on the tower because it is the main one for all the municipalities. Here, the neighbors are helping a lot and trying to recover what they can,” said Lázaro Noa.

“That wall has been there for years, and every time a hurricane comes through, it wobbles like a tree. Yesterday, it finally collapsed and destroyed that man’s house where he lives in the front room,” said María Caridad Malán Víctores.

“I lost my TV, my fridge, and the washing machine. I have nothing. Look, this is all I have left,” said Jorge Keny Zamora Milián.

This is the second hurricane that has hit Cuba in less than a month. Hurricane Oscar left eight people dead. Hurricane Rafael caused no casualties.

The Cuban Civil Defense is considered a world leader in preparing for disasters. More than 280,000 people were evacuated in Western Cuba. Nearly 100,000 were evacuated in the capital.

“There was a lot of warning about what was coming, that we had to really prepare. In our building the doors were propped up,” Maribel Vázquez.

“People were really quite aware. The police were constantly warning everybody to go home. We came from Cataluña, where there just was a DANA (high-altitude isolated depression), and the truth is that the reaction has been very different here, because there was very strong political negligence, where the citizens were not warned,” said Tatiana Muñoz Melo.

After the hurricane, citizens joined with government institutions in recovery efforts. The recovery began as soon as the hurricane had passed.

“From the early hours of the morning, working hard, trying to restore everything as quickly as possible,” said Geoversi Guerra.

“The neighbors came and helped me fix my roof temporarily. They installed the roof and I was able to get back in my house,” said Anayan Marroque.

“We handed out the tools, some with brooms, others with machetes. We removed everything, all the rubble, all the trees that had fallen. We cleaned it all up,” said Maribel Vázquez.

“Nobody has come to help anyone or anything. And I live alone. It's just that there’s too much to do,” said Pastor de Diego.

“And we have to stay here because the state has nothing. I have a young girl and a boy who is doing his military service, and I have a disability. We don’t have the deed or anything, because everything was lost in the storm,” said Anayan Marroque.

Rafael struck Cuba in the midst of a deep economic crisis due in large part to U.S. sanctions against the island.

Every year, hurricanes hit countries in the region. But Cuba is the only country

that faces hurricanes while also facing economic warfare from the U.S.

That war could get worse when Trump returns to the White House.

“Four more years of this? Detestable. It will obviously affect the Cuban people,” said Tatiana Muñoz Melo.