They report on the impacts of Hurricane Helene in Cuba.

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

In the case of the Isle of Youth, while the weather phenomenon helped to improve the volumes of the reservoirs, Helene affected key sectors such as agriculture, tobacco, and the electrical service, the latter sector also suffering damage in Artemisa.

Pinar del Río

Only in Pinar del Río are the impacts on the electric supply significant, with around 70,000 customers without service, according to an article in Cubadebate that documented the main impacts in the western provinces following the effects of Helene, which did not make landfall in Cuba but caused disruptions.

However, it is noteworthy that the official media did not document the landslides or the housing impacts in figures, one of the most sensitive aspects in the case of these meteorological phenomena.

In the electrical sector, it was reported that the line supplying the municipality of Sandino has faults, which affects the water supply in the area.

Manipulations are being carried out to restore service in Guane, although authorities warn that the town of Cortés is unlikely to receive power in the short term.

Electric service has been restored in areas such as Minas, Santa Lucía, and Pons, but interruptions are reported in other areas, including Guanito and San Diego, with a total of 438 interruptions in the province, of which 144 are recorded in Pinar del Río.

The arrival of seven working groups from Mayabeque, Havana, and Cienfuegos is expected to assist in recovery efforts.

Regarding the water supply, the circuit that electrically powers the water wells is also facing issues, complicating the supply in the city. In Consolación del Sur, difficulties are reported with the pumping equipment, and work is being carried out in Minas de Matahambre, specifically at the La Yuquilla station.

In health terms, according to the report by the official media, the surgical medical brigades remain active in each community to address any emergency. However, they warn of leaks in the cesarean sections rooms of the Abel Santamaría Hospital.

Artemisa

More than 160,000 residents of Artemisa, out of the 200,000 customers of the Electric Company of Artemisa, are affected in their service after the passage of Hurricane Helene.

According to Iscander Morales Suárez, provincial director of the entity, the largest outage is concentrated in circuit 1,270 of the capital city, due to the need to replace a transformer at the 110 Kv substation, which is being transferred from the municipality of Nueva Paz in Mayabeque, and must be assembled and powered by qualified personnel at the Mariel thermoelectric plant, so it should have a definitive solution by around noon this Thursday, he added.

He explained that 35 workgroups are working continuously on outages of primary lines and are inspecting others to be able to provide service, especially in seven of the 11 municipalities in the area that were completely without power as of 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Four hospitals provide service in Artemisa with generators and other services such as water supply to the population.

Isle of Youth

The weather phenomenon helped improve the volumes of the reservoirs, but its passage affected key sectors such as agriculture, tobacco, and electric service.

In 10 of the 28 rain gauges in the territory, more than 100 millimeters of precipitation were recorded, with the Malpaís II reservoir having the highest accumulation at 146.5 mm in 24 hours.

The most significant damage occurred in the tobacco sector, as approximately 25 hectares of export-quality tobacco seed were damaged, which presupposes a significant delay in the planting campaign scheduled to start on the upcoming October 10.

There was also damage to the banana plantations.

In the Isle of Youth, 3,697 customers experienced power outages, representing 12% of the total in the special municipality.

Ignacio Luis Moya Álvarez, director of the Base Dispatch Business Unit at the electric company, stated that five brigades are working to restore the service as soon as possible.

The authorities urged to avoid activities such as fishing and reported the temporary suspension of maritime transfers.

Despite Helene moving away from Cuba toward Florida, where it is expected to make landfall this Thursday night, the so-called "feeding bands" of the hurricane are still crossing over Cuba, causing intense rain in several areas of the country's west. There are also reports of somewhat strong winds in some places in the region.