Hurricane Oscar killed six people after hitting Cuba over the weekend, leading to power outages across the country.
“Regrettably, according to preliminary information, six lives have been lost,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a televised remark.
He said the storm caused severe damage in the eastern province of Guantanamo.
On Monday, authorities reported that power has been restored in most of the capital, Havana.
The entire grid was affected after the nation’s largest power plant failed, resulting in a blackout that affected 10 million residents of the Communist-run country.
By Monday afternoon, approximately 90% of Havana’s residents, totalling around two million people, had their power restored, according to a report from the capital’s electricity company published by the state-run news portal Cubadebate.
“Of course I’m happy!” Olga Gomez, a 59-year-old housewife in Havana, said after the lights came back on.
“I have an elderly, senile mother of 85 and an autistic son. It’s very difficult when there’s no power,” she told AFP. However, outside Havana, many residents remained without electricity.
Cuba remained in darkness on Sunday as Hurricane Oscar hit the eastern part of the country as a Category 1 storm, resulting in multiple fatalities and destruction.
As Hurricane Oscar moved inland, it weakened into a tropical storm but was still predicted to cause “significant, life-threatening flash flooding along with mudslides,” according to the US National Hurricane Centre.
The State television reported damage to the roofs and walls of houses, including destroyed electricity poles and trees.
