The Cuban government announced on Wednesday the evacuation of more than 50,000 residents from Havana due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Rafael, a formidable Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). According to the state-run media outlet Cubadebate, those evacuated are primarily from coastal areas and locations prone to flooding, as stated by Liván Izquierdo, the Communist Party secretary in the city.
During a session of the Provincial Defense Council, officials outlined the measures for the Cyclonic Alarm Phase, activated by the Civil Defense General Staff in anticipation of the storm's impact. Even though the hurricane is still at a distance, heavy rains have begun to fall on Havana, and the initial gusts of wind are being felt as the weather system draws closer.
In addition, over 11,000 people in the southern region of Sancti Spíritus have been evacuated to homes of relatives and shelters due to the hurricane threat, as reported by the Provincial Defense Council (CDP). Deivy Pérez, a member of the Central Committee of the Party and its first secretary in the area, indicated that evacuees were moved to temporary shelters equipped with provisions like food and medical aid, while others found refuge with friends and family.
The National Hurricane Center reported through social media platform X that Rafael has intensified to a Category 3 hurricane just before making landfall on Cuba's western coast. Recently, the storm system has continued to gain strength and organization, becoming the fifth major hurricane of the current cyclone season. Rafael is currently situated at 22.0°N and 82.3°W, approximately 84 miles (135 kilometers) south of Havana, moving northwest at 14 mph (22 km/h), with a central minimum pressure of 956 hPa.
As Rafael progresses northwestward, its effects are already noticeable in parts of western Cuba, and these will gradually spread throughout the region. Expect heavy and intense rainfall, hurricane-force winds, storm surges, and coastal flooding as the storm advances.