Waterspout hits Havana, damaging homes and downing power lines, Cuba

A large waterspout formed off the coast capital Havana, Cuba on February 9, 2022, and came ashore, damaging roofs of homes, and downing trees and power lines.

The waterspout hit the land between Tarara and Guanabo beaches at around 10:30 LT.

"We have set up a situation room to register all damages caused by the waterspout," community leader Beatriz Moro, said, adding that no human casualties were reported.¹

Havana was hit by a destructive EF-4 tornado on January 27, 2019 — the strongest to hit the city since December 1940. ²

The tornado touched down between 20:30 and 21:00 local time, and was on the ground for 16 minutes.

Its width was initially 500 m (546 yards) but then it increased to 1 000 m (1 093 yards) with a length of 11.5 km (7.1 miles).

It moved ashore from the NE, crossing the municipalities of Cerro, 10^th October, Guanabacoa, San Miguel del Padron and Regla. This is where most of the material damage from the storm and tornado was concentrated.

Parts of these areas were left without basic services such as electricity, water, butane gas and telephony.

The tornado affected a total of 1 238 homes, of which 123 were totally destroyed and 625 partially. 224 homes completely lost the roof and 124 partially. There are 46 schools, 11 health institutions, 21 daycare centers, 2 sports centers and 2 student residences affected.

4 people were killed and 195 injured.

References:

¹ Waterspout hits Havana's eastern littoral – Xinhua

² EF-4 tornado, Havana: 1 238 affected homes, 4 people killed and 195 injured, Cuba – The Watchers

Featured image credit: R3 Boomerang