Millions of Cubans face third day without power as Hurricane Oscar closes in

For the third day in a row, millions of Cubans have been without power in their homes and conditions will only get worse when Hurricane Oscar makes landfall on the island nation Sunday afternoon. 

The capital city of Havana, with its nearly two million residents, appeared to be entirely without electricity early on Sunday, according to Reuters. Many residents have formed lines to get subsidized rations to keep them going. 

Cuba’s top electricity official, Lazaro Guerra, confirmed there was a partial grid collapse late on Saturday in the western provinces of Cuba, which includes Havana. 

This was the third full collapse of the country’s energy grid since Friday, reports CNN. Most of the 10 million people who live in Cuba have lost power for the whole time since then. 

Hurricane Oscar is set to land in eastern Cuba bringing heavy winds and rain, further complicating rescue and recovery efforts. 

There have been worsening blackouts across the country for weeks, which the government has blamed on deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages and the U.S. trade embargo, according to CNN. The U.S. government has denied any role in the situation regarding the reliability of the electrical grid and the resulting power outages. 

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz had addressed the country on Thursday in a televised address in which he said that much of the country’s limited production was stopped to avoid leaving people completely without power.