Strong rains persist in western Cuba due to the presence of Hurricane Helene.

Despite Hurricane Helene, a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, moving away from the Cuban coasts, rain persists in the western and central regions of the country.

In a social media post, the Institute of Meteorology of Cuba (Insmet) stated that over the last 24 hours, there were numerous rainfalls in the western and central regions, with the highest accumulations of 108.3 mm in Isabel Rubio, Pinar del Río, and 84 mm in Bahía Honda, Artemisa.

A tropical cyclone warning issued by the entity at 6:00 a.m. indicated that Helene's passage near national territory generated sustained winds on Thursday morning of up to 60 kilometers per hour at the Casablanca weather station in Havana.

In addition, several strong gusts of wind were reported, with 101 kilometers per hour in Santa Lucía, Pinar del Río; 92 kilometers per hour in Casablanca, Havana; and 70 kilometers per hour at the station in the city of Cienfuegos.

The institution warned that the rains will continue and will be heavy and intense in some areas of the country, mainly in the west. In the coming hours, sustained winds from the south will persist in the western region, with speeds between 40 and 55 kilometers per hour and higher gusts.

The swells will continue on the southern coast of the provinces from Pinar del Río to Sancti Spíritus, with strong swells expected south of Isla de la Juventud and the Canarreos archipelago, as well as on both coasts of the province of Pinar del Río, with coastal flooding ranging from light to moderate in the southwestern shore, they add.

The first secretary of the Communist Party in the province of Pinar del Río, Yamilé Ramos Cordero, announced that the main damages in that province are concentrated in electrical infrastructure and agriculture, the latter still to be quantified.

In the case of the Isle of Youth, although the weather phenomenon helped improve the volumes of the reservoirs, Helene affected key sectors such as agriculture, tobacco, and the electric service, with the latter sector also damaged in Artemisa.

On social media, images of the impact of this cyclonic organism on the island are also circulating.