The Cuban government evacuates more than 50,000 people in Havana due to the approach of Rafael

The Cuban government announced on Wednesday the evacuation of more than 50,000 people in Havana due to the impending approach of Hurricane Rafael, which is expected to strike the western region of the island as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph).

According to the state-run portal Cubadebate, the evacuated residents in the capital primarily come from coastal areas and locations identified as prone to flooding, as reported by Liván Izquierdo, the secretary of the Communist Party in the city.

Similarly, during a session of the Provincial Defense Council, the authorities outlined the actions for the Cyclonic Alarm Phase established by the Civil Defense General Staff in anticipation of the impending passage of the storm.

Despite the distance, heavy rains have begun to fall over Havana, and the first gusts of wind are being felt as the atmospheric phenomenon approaches.

Similarly, more than 11,000 people were evacuated to relatives' homes and shelters in the south of Sancti Spíritus due to the threat of Hurricane Rafael, reported the Provincial Defense Council (CDP).

Deivy Pérez, a member of the Central Committee of the Party and its first secretary in the region, stated that they were moved to temporary shelters equipped with resources such as food and medical assistance, while the others were taken in by friends and family.

Rafael has intensified and is now a Category 3 hurricane, just before reaching the western coast of Cuba, reported the National Hurricane Center on social media platform X.

In the past few hours, the system continued to grow in organization and intensity, becoming the fifth major hurricane of this hurricane season.

Rafael's current location is 22.0°N and 82.3°W, approximately 135 kilometers south of Havana, and is moving northwest at a speed of 22 km/h, with a minimum central pressure of 956 hPa.

Rafael will continue its course to the northwest, and effects are already being felt in parts of western Cuba, which will gradually extend to the rest of the region with heavy and intense rains, winds up to hurricane strength, storm surges, and coastal flooding.