Hurricane Ian cuts power to entire Cuba

Hurricane Ian cut power to all of Cuba and destroyed some of the country's most important tobacco plantations when it hit the island's western tip as a major hurricane on Tuesday.

The Cuban Electricity Union said in a statement that work is underway to gradually restore service to the country's 11 million residents during the night, according to the American magazine Politico.

About a million people were initially cut off from power in the western provinces of Cuba, but later the entire network collapsed.

Hurricane Ian made landfall over western Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane as it headed toward Florida in what could be the worst storm to hit Tampa in more than a century.

Hurricane Ian's wind gusts jumped to 205 kilometers per hour as it approached Pinar del Rio, Cuba, according to a note issued by the US National Hurricane Center at 0500 a.m. New York time.

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