Hurricane Rafael weakens into tropical storm as it swirls over Gulf of Mexico after lashing Cuba

Firefighters check debris from a house during a blackout after Hurricane Rafael knocked out the country’s electrical grid, in Havana, Cuba, on November 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Hurricane Rafael weakened into a tropical storm on Friday (November 8, 2024) as it swirled through the Gulf of Mexico where it was expected to break apart after plowing through Cuba, knocking out the country’s power grid and collapsing hundreds of houses.

On Friday night (November 8, 2024), the tropical storm was located 390 km (240 miles) north of Progreso, Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 110 kph (70 mph) and was moving west-northwest at 7 kph (5 mph), according to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

It was forecast to move westward toward Mexico in the coming days and forecasters warned that swells from the hurricane were likely to cause “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.” Mexico’s government on Friday (November 8, 2024) warned of powerful rain, winds and waves up to 8 ft (2.5 metres) high in the Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatan states in the coming hours, asking citizens to take care.

A man walks at a flooded street a day after Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Batabano, Cuba, on November 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Forecasters said they expected the storm to weaken and “meander” over the centre of the Gulf through early next week. The hurricane tore through Jamaica and the Cayman Islands earlier in the week, knocking out power and fuelling mudslides. On Wednesday evening (November 6, 2024), it barrelled into Cuba, causing yet another headache for the island.

Rafael’s fierce winds knocked out Cuba’s electric grid, forced the evacuation of 2,83,000 people and collapsed 461 homes. It also left trees, power lines and rubble strewn across flooded streets.

On Friday (November 8, 2024), the Cuban government said it was able to restore power to approximately 1,43,000 homes in Havana, though many people were still without power.

Rafael followed a rocky few weeks in the Caribbean nation. First, it was hit by island-wide blackouts stretching on for days, a product of the island’s energy crisis. Shortly after, it was slapped by powerful hurricane that struck the eastern part of the island and killed at least six people.