A strong power storm hit Havana on the afternoon of this Sunday, October 5, according to various reports from the capital.
The storm has left an image that has gone viral on social networks. It was captured by the fan Henry Rodríguez and replicated by Henry Delgado Manzor, member of the Cuba de Meteorology Society.
The photograph in question shows a strong electric shock impacting on the antennas of Habana Libre Hotel, on Vedado.
The meteorologist recommended that people protect themselves and stay safe in these extreme climatic conditions.
Electric shocks, extreme danger
According to a study by the Institute of Meteorology of 2020, the annual average in Cuba is 54 deaths due to ray impact. The information itself details that 1742 people died for electric discharges between 1987 and 2017.
An investigation of the Institute of Geophysics and Astronomy published in 2018 ensures that this is the first cause of death due to meteorological phenomena on the island, ahead of hurricanes, tornadoes, intense rainfall events and coastal floods and other natural disasters.
Electric downloads usually occur more frequently in June, July and August due to summer storms. This stage is the most dangerous because the high heating of the air in contact with the earth’s surface makes these facts more frequent.
However, similar phenomena may occur at other times of the year. For example, in addition to this Sunday’s storm in Havana, on Friday three people died and several were injured in the Holguin municipality of Moa due to the impact of lightning.
The incident happened at the entrance of the Cupey neighborhood, a town located on the Moa-Barraca road, east of the MOA, according to the journalist Yulieska Hernández García from Facebook.
Irelemis Ortiz del Rosario, one of the injured, said that around five in the afternoon it began to rain and a group of people took advantage of the existence of an awning they saw near the road to take care.
“When we had an hour or so to be there, that I didn’t stop from Escampo, a thunder fell on top of the canvas-carpa. And I felt that my eyes clouded me, I felt like a strong corriezo, and fell to the ground, at a long distance about two meters,” he said.
Other tragic episodes in 2025
Last June Two teenagers died when they were reached by a ray in Bauta, in the province of Artemis.
The minors, aged 13 and 16, played outdoor football when at 5:30 in the afternoon they received the impact of an electric shock prior to the rain and died at the time, according to what is reported then.
On August 4, three minors lost their lives in Villa Clara due to the same cause. The tragedy happened in Manicaragua in the afternoon and the victims were a 14 -year -old girl and two men, 13 and 14, one of them resident in the United States who was visiting Cuba.
A minor fourth was also affected by the electric shock, but after receiving the attention of the Integrated Medical Emergency Service and going through a hospital admission period evolved favorably.
Finally, on August 10 a 42 -year -old woman died In Matanzas after receiving an electric shock caused by lightning. The accident occurred near the town of La Luisa, in the Yumurino municipality of Colón, when the victim was doing agricultural work, according to information from the management center for disaster risk reduction.
