Much of Matanzas in blackout after severe storm

Much of Matanzas woke up in blackout this Saturday aftersevere electrical storm that affected the territory on Friday.

"I don't know if it was a precaution or a breakdown, but part of the city of Matanzas without electricity and above us, a great waste of millions of volts," he commented inFacebook the journalist José Miguel Solís, along with an image of the phenomenon.

Residents in Cárdenas and in towns such as Cidra and Juan Gualberto Gómez (formerly Sabanilla) in the Unión de Reyes municipality, reported thatThey had been without power for hours.

"At the Summit, Versailles, the current went out with the first strong thunder and just a few minutes ago strong gusts of wind and hail," revealed one Internet user.

"Was there any neighborhood left with electricity in Matanzas? Even the Pediatric Hospital!" commented another.

The provincial Electric Company reported that due to tripping of the 110kV line, the Naranjal substation (110kV) was affected, which serves the circuits in the areas of Armando Mestre, Roto Lozano, René Fraga, Los Mangos, the Hospital Pediatric, Compostela, La Plaza, Pueblo Nuevo, Calzada San Luis and Jaiba.

"With a shot on the 110 kV line of the Orangery substation and I had a blackout from nine to 12," said a neighbor in Cárdenas.

"In Sabanilla, a dark town, there has been no electricity since 12 at night, they don't explain what happened," questioned a man from Matanzas.

"In Cidra all night without power, incommunicado without coverage, as always," lamented another.

The intense rains that fell from the afternoon until the late hours of Friday caused some flooding in Athens, Cuba.

Journalist José Miguel Solís warned residents near rivers that the tide would be high during the early morning, a period in which rivers reduce evacuation, which could cause severe or moderate flooding.

"Stay alert,This territory of Matanzas has identified more than 60 places prone to flooding"he said inFacebook.

"We are not near any river and we are almost drowning," said Lázara Fuentes, from Cárdenas.

"I'm already flooded and I live on the beach, tennis area," said one woman.

AlsoIn Havana the Electric Company reported breakdowns as a result of the strong storms that hit the province, where a transmission line, eight subtransmission circuits and 22 primary distribution circuits were affected.

A note published on social networks specified that the most affected municipalities are Boyeros, Arroyo Naranjo, Cotorro and La Lisa, although dozens of Internet users also reported interruptions in Diez de Octubre, Guanabacoa, Playa and Habana del Este.

"Our linemen are mobilized, ready when the rain conditions allow it to solve the breakdowns in the shortest time possible," the information concluded.