The Pinar del Río Electric Company has announced that any power outages caused by Hurricane Helene will not be addressed until the storm has completely passed. The company reported that as of early this morning, the municipalities of San Juan y Martínez, Guane, Mantua, Sandino, and Minas de Matahambre are without electrical power.
The company emphasized that during severe weather events, it is standard procedure to keep circuits offline until the storm passes. Specialists will then assess the power lines to determine if they are safe to be reactivated. If issues are found, they will be identified and fixed before service is restored.
"Even if it seems like nothing happened in your area, there could be downed cables and poles elsewhere along the line. Energizing these lines could cause accidents or even fatalities," the company stated on its Facebook page. "Thus, until the weather conditions improve, it is not possible to begin work to restore power to the affected circuits, which currently include parts of San Juan y Martínez, Guane, Mantua, Sandino, and Minas de Matahambre."
This Wednesday, the initial flooding caused by Hurricane Helene began in Pinar del Río, with reports of seawater intrusion, river overflow, and isolated areas. Out of the province's 24 reservoirs, 17 are overflowing, and collectively they are at 93% of their capacity.
In Los Palacios, water from the "La Juventud" Dam has covered the section of the road leading to San Diego de los Baños, near Villa Amistad. "Within a few hours, vehicle traffic will be halted due to continuous and heavy rains," reported journalist Ricardo Rodríguez González. Additionally, in Puerta de Golpe, a popular council in the municipality of Consolación del Sur, the area of El Palenque is also isolated.
The tropical storm Helene escalated to a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday and is rapidly gaining strength in the Caribbean Sea as it heads toward the northwest coast of Florida.