A severe local storm struck the municipality of Florida, Camagüey, on Wednesday, leaving five homes damaged, disruptions to the electrical grid, and over a thousand fallen trees.
The phenomenon occurred around 5:40 PM near the water intake of the Muñoz reservoir, according to information shared by the Florida de Cuba page on Facebook.
The preliminary assessment indicates direct damage to five homes and the fall of over a thousand trees, including fruit trees and other forest species. Some of the fallen trees landed on the power lines, causing interruptions in the community's service.
The images broadcast after the storm show uprooted trees, debris, damage to roofs, and large areas of affected vegetation.
One of the photographs also shows a column of air that appears to touch down in the middle of a field. So far, authorities have not confirmed whether it was a tornado.
A video recorded during the storm and shared by Radio Florida journalist Pedro Pablo Sáez Herrera captures the distress of the residents as they watched the phenomenon approaching.
"Get in here, get in before it comes through, it's going to leave us homeless," is heard from someone as the column of wind moves through the area.
After the storm, officials from the Municipal Civil Defense Authority, representatives from the Housing sector, and workers from the Basic Electric Organization arrived at the site to assess the damage and begin recovery efforts.
The bad weather also affected other areas of the province. User Mario Labarcena Castillo shared images of a heavy hailstorm in downtown Camagüey on Facebook, where several streets were flooded and covered with ice stones.
The province has recorded several episodes of severe weather during the current rainy season. In July, a hailstorm knocked down trees and caused power outages, affecting the Provincial Hospital and the Oncology Hospital.
At the end of that same month, another severe local storm with hail struck the center of Camagüey.
Florida also recorded in May a waterspout, although on that occasion no material damages were reported.
Regionally, the Atlantic remains active with the tropical system AL96, which has a 90% chance of development, although there is no confirmed trajectory toward Cuba at the time of the event in Florida. Severe local storms, however, do not require organized systems to wreak havoc: they are a constant during Cuba's rainy season from May to October, and the province of Camagüey is among the most exposed.
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