[Source: BBC]
Power has been restored in parts of Cuba after Hurricane Ian pummelled the western end of the island and caused a total blackout.
Officials earlier said the electrical system had collapsed after one of the country’s main power plants could not be brought back online.
Two people were reported dead and buildings were damaged nationwide.
Ian is now a Category 4 hurricane, packing wind speeds of up to 250km/h (155mph), bearing down on Florida.
On Cuban state television on Tuesday, the head of the electrical energy authority announced that an island-wide blackout had occurred as a result of the national electrical system’s breakdown, leaving 11 million people in the dark.
A journalist with a state-run news agency reported that “the Antonio Guiteras thermo-electric power plant… could not be synchronised”. Based in Matanzas, 100km east of the capital Havana, Antonio Guiteras is the most important energy plant in Cuba.
The blackout also meant that water was unavailable in many areas which rely on water pumps, leaving residents unable to bathe or boil water to drink.
Food in some areas was reportedly spoiling without functioning refrigerators and freezers in people’s homes.
