HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Cuba on Wednesday as a powerful Category 3 hurricane, shortly after powerful winds knocked out the country’s power grid.
Forecasters warned Rafael could bring “life-threatening” storm surges, winds and flash floods to western swaths of the island after it knocked out power and dumped rain on the Cayman Islands and Jamaica the day before.
The storm was located 40 miles (65 kilometers) south-southwest of Havana on Wednesday. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) and was moving northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm is bad news for Cuba, which is struggling with devastating blackouts while recovering from another hurricane two weeks ago that killed at least six people in the eastern part of the island.
On Wednesday, the Cuban government issued an alert for the incoming storm while crews in Havana worked to fortify buildings and clear…
