Three dead, scores injured in rare Cuban tornado

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Three dead, scores injured in rare Cuban tornado

Crews in Cuba are trying to restore power after a deadly storm. A rare tornado ripped through Havana leaving 3 dead and scores injured. Among the damaged buildings is a maternity hospital and a homeless shelter.

CGTN’s Luis Chirino has more.

A strong tornado took by surprise the citizens of Havana Sunday evening and early hours of Monday. It was a very fast phenomenon that has left three people dead so far, and caused a lot of damage across vast parts of three different districts in this city.

Utility poles and electric cables sprawl across roads and debris. Cars that were lifted and thrown against the building lie overturned. Many homes are missing their roofs, and state-owned facilities their windows.

Huge trees lie across homes and roads, and streets are littered with debris. Pools of water dot low-lying areas that were flooded.

The tornado that hit Cuba brought winds reported as strong as 250 kilometers an hour.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel visited some of the affected neighborhoods on Monday as emergency teams worked to restore power. In the coming hours, authorities will have more details about the damage caused by the strongest tornado to hit the island in nearly 80 years.