Tropical Storm Erin threatens to become the first hurricane of the season but poses no risk to Cuba.
14ymedio, Havana, 12 August 2025 — A torrential downpour of rain fell on Havana this Monday leaving flooding in some places, such as Luyanó, which was completely dark after the impact of a lightning strike around 6 pm in the afternoon. The residents of that municipality saw water quickly running through doors and windows, even in the houses in good condition. The electricity did not return until after 8 pm, and the fresh water, which should have been pumped this Monday, did not arrive.
“A longshoreman from a nearby company was telling another that where he lives everything was flooded, and that the pots and statues of the saints next door floated out onto the street,” a Luyanó neighbor told this newspaper. In his house, the water even destroyed the painting of the facade.
The Havana authorities analyzed the situation in a meeting on Monday and called on the population to take precautionary measures before the flood. “I have seen young people on the streets avoiding the manholes and the waves caused by some vehicles. Right now in Via Blanca and the intersection of Vento and Lacret, not only are they hooking onto cars but also openly vandalizing and harassing them,” said the first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party, Liván Izquierdo Alonso.
The Havana authorities analyzed the situation in a meeting on Monday and called on the population to take precautionary measures before the flood.
“In the area of Port Avenue and the intersection of Fábrica Street, an extremely dangerous area, a vehicle was trapped. Despite the presence of a Fire Brigade unit, some drivers insist on driving through the danger zone, including the boteros* and buses with passengers. I wonder: What do these drivers have in their heads and why are they unable to see the danger?” he said.
The people, however, complain that the lack of cleanliness and the poor sewer drainage in the streets of Havana turn again and again into a deadly trap when it rains, without enough maintenance being done to guarantee safety.
Videos of flooded streets throughout the capital have reported, on social media, the situation associated with tropical storm Erin, which is forming in the Atlantic and threatening to become the first hurricane of the season. The Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) is monitoring the situation, although it considers that there is no potential risk to the Island.
On Monday afternoon Erin was located about 455 kilometers west of Cape Verde and moving west at a speed of 31 kilometers per hour. From 3 am, Insmet mentions rain and storms during the day on Tuesday, without considering that they will be severe. However, it warns that “in areas with rain and associated electrical storms, wind strength and wave height can be locally increased.”
*Translator’s note: ‘Boteros’ refers to the drivers of what are commonly 1950s American cars used as shared taxis on fixed routes.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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