Photos: Hurricane Rafael batters Cuba, plunging the island into a blackout
Al Jazeera
Less than a month after Hurricane Milton churned over the island of Cuba, the country has been struck by yet another powerful storm: Hurricane Rafael.
Rafael made landfall on Wednesday as a formidable Category 3 storm, which qualifies it as a major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
It lurched across the western province of Artemisa, with wind speeds reported to be 185 kilometres per hour (115 miles per hour).
But as Wednesday evening wore on, the hurricane had crossed back into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 storm, with sustained winds of 168km/h (105mph).
From there, its destination was as yet unknown: It is expected to continue moving in a northwest direction, weakening as it potentially approaches either the United States or Mexico.
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Rafael continues to strengthen and forecast to be near major Category 3 hurricane status at landfall in western Cuba.