“It hasn’t been the worst flooding, but it’s come at the worst possible time: without water or electricity and with the garbage dump almost reaching half a block.”
14ymedio, Havana, February 23, 2026 — Indifferent to internal crises and external tensions, the forces of nature stubbornly continue on their course, sometimes unpredictable, sometimes not so much. Such is the Atlantic Ocean off Havana during the winter months, leaping over the Malecón and spreading across several streets.
The image of the ocean forming a wall of white foam against the stone seawall has been a recurring theme in the most idyllic photographs of the capital, those that, looking west, show the old skyline—without the Torre K hotel —formed by the Habana Libre Hotel, the Hotel Nacional, and the Focsa Building, and, to the south, the Morro Lighthouse. In practice, it poses a problem every year, especially for traffic and residents of nearby areas.
“The wind almost swept me away. Tremendous wind. The water reaches as far as 3rd Street, and from D Street onwards. You can’t go there because everything is flooded,” a resident of the Girón building, at Malecón and F Streets, lamented to this newspaper, as he was unable to leave this Monday to buy food.
From his balcony, indeed, one can see the waves crashing and the water pouring in unchecked. The empty avenue isn’t just because of the storm this time. “With the critical fuel shortage, there’s no need to even close the road,” the man says ironically. The streets have been almost deserted for a month, with very few foreign tourists, who in any case provide a stark contrast to an exhausted and aging population.
“It hasn’t been the worst or the most serious of the floods, but it has come at the worst possible time: with problems in the water supply, without electricity since last night, with the garbage on the corner that extends almost half a block and, to top it all off, with almost no internet access to communicate with the family and tell them that we are okay,” says a Havana resident at 1st and C.
Seeing the ocean so free is even beautiful. Some dare to say: “It’s not the only invasion we are expecting.”
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