2019 Havana tornado
Aftermath of the tornado in Diez de Octubre, municipality of Havana
Meteorological history
Duration26 minutes
Formed27 January 2019 20:20 (CST)
EF4 tornado
on the Enhanced Fujita scale
Highest winds~185 mph (298 km/h)
Overall effects
Fatalities8
Injuries190+
Areas affectedHavana Province, Cuba
Part of the tornado outbreaks of 2019

On the night of 27 January 2019, at 20:20 CST, an unusually violent and destructive tornado ripped through the Cuban capital Havana. The EF4 tornado toppled trees and utility poles, destroyed cars and sent debris flying as it passed through the city. According to the Cuban Meteorology Institute, the tornado was produced by a cold front that struck the nation's north coast, but "there were no indications of the anticipated existence of any cloud that fulfilled the characteristics of a classic supercell, nor a minisupercell, and that would explain the development of the intense tornado".[1][2] At least eight people died and more than 190 were injured.

Background

Tornadoes in Cuba are not a rare occurrence as the island nation has been struck before in its history; the first ever filmed tornado was located in Cuba in 1933.[3][4] Many of Cuba's tornadoes have intensity ratings of F0 to F2 on the Fujita scale. However, six F3 and three F4 tornadoes have been observed.[1]

Tornado

At 20:20 local time, a tornadic vortex formed near Casino Deportivo, in the Cerro municipality. It traveled generally east-northeast on a path approximately 20 km (12 mi) long. The tornado traveled at a speed of 46 km/h (29 mph) with wind speeds of approximately ~185 mph (298 km/h) At around 20:46 local time, the tornado entered the Gulf of Mexico via Celimar in Habana del Este. By that time, the tornado had significantly weakened and was dissipating. Initially, the width of the vortex was 20 m (66 ft) in diameter, but increased to 200 m (660 ft) along most of its path. It was assigned an official rating of EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale by the Cuban Meteorology Institute, making this the first F4 or EF4 tornado in Cuba since 1940.[1][5][6]

Damage

The tornado inflicted the greatest damage in the central and eastern parts of Havana, where numerous well-built masonry homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Concrete frame buildings sustained major structural damage, and cars were thrown or crushed under debris.[7] The municipalities most affected were Diez de Octubre, Cerro, Guanabacoa, Regla, and San Miguel del Padrón.[8] At least 1,238 of the 4,800 homes affected were seriously damaged,[9] with 500 totally destroyed and 757 partially.[10] At least 224 homes had completely lost their roof and 124 lost part of it.[9] Nineteen medical infrastructures suffered extensive damage, including polyclinics, general practitioner clinics, nursing homes and pharmacies. The Obstetrics-Gynecology Teaching Hospital sustained the worst damage. Another hospital; the Hijas de Galicia Maternity Hospital was also damaged, and patients and staff had to be evacuated. Eighty schools were also structurally affected. Many school buildings suffered structural damage to roofs and walls.[11] A further 21 day care facilities were damaged, and numerous trees and power poles were snapped along the path.[12]

Casualties

Early reports by President Miguel Díaz-Canel said there were three deaths and 172 injures in a Twitter post.[13] Later, according to Reuters, eight people were killed and over 190 were injured. Ten people suffered life-threatening injuries.[12] Among the fatalities was a 54-year-old woman who died when the tornado tore through her house while searching for a shelter to hide in.[13] Another man died when his home collapsed onto him.[7] Two people initially hospitalized also succumbed to their injuries.[14] The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UN Cuban headquarters reported that 253,682 were directly affected by the destructive tornado, with 80,000 people in the direct path. Of the 9,937 people evacuated, at least 9,413 were living in the homes of friends and families while 524 were placed in government shelters. Over 144,000 residents did not have access to electricity after the disaster,; some still remained without power over a week later.[11]

Response

Rescue and recovery operations began immediately after the tornado. On 27 January, at 20:00, President Bermúdez arranged a meeting with the Council of Ministers to discuss the progress made on recovery efforts. He was informed by ministers of the damage and casualties in the affected areas.[15] Private businesses were also involved in the provision and distribution of basic needs such as clothing and food to needing individuals. Several musical artists organized benefit concerts and personally distributed aid to the affected.[16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Mario Carnesoltas-Calvo; Alis Varela-de la Rosa; Maibys Sierra-Lorenzo; Miriam T. Llanes-Monteagudo; Orlando Rodríguez-González; Armando Caymares-Ortiz; Elier Pila-Fariñas; Rafael Valdés-Alberto; Marlin Gutiérrez-Rivera; Luis E. Ramos-Guadalupe (2019). "Tornado que afectó La Habana el 27 de enero de 2019" [Tornado that affected Havana on January 27, 2019]. Revista Cubana de Meteorología (in Spanish). 25 (3).
  2. ↑ "Havana: rare tornado rips through Cuban capital". The Guardian. Associated Press. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Matthews, Gan (8 June 2010). "Corn Resident One of First to Capture Tornado on Motion Pictures 59 Years Ago". KWTV-DT. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "See A Tornado ... In Safety! (1933)". YouTube. British Pathé. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  5. ↑ "Havana, Cuba tornado death toll rises with 4 killed". Miami Herald. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  6. ↑ @nwas (September 12, 2019). "@kudrios: This tornado was rated an EF4 with max winds of ~185 mph was the strongest tornado to hit Cuba in over 80 years. Some ~250,000 people affected" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. 1 2 Sarah Marsh; Marc Frank (28 January 2019). "Cuba's strongest tornado in nearly 80 years kills at least four". Reuters. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  8. ↑ International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (23 August 2019). "Cuba: Tornado DREF Operation no. MDRCU005 Final Report". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  9. 1 2 Teo Blašković (30 January 2019). "EF-4 tornado, Havana: 1 238 affected homes, 4 people killed and 195 injured, Cuba". The Watchers. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  10. ↑ "Cuban President Highlights Havana Response to Devastating Tornado". Periódico Digital Centroamericano y del Caribe. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  11. 1 2 UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; UN Country Team in Cuba (14 February 2019). "Cuba: 2019 Plan of Action". ReliefWeb. Cuba: United Nations. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  12. 1 2 ACT Alliance (25 February 2019). "Cuba: Emergency response to the tornado in Havana RRF 2/2019". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  13. 1 2 Michael Weissenstein; Andrea Rodriguez (28 January 2019). "Rare tornado strikes in Havana, killing at least 3 and injuring more than 100". Global News. Associated Press. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  14. ↑ Associated Press (4 February 2022). "Death Toll From Last Week's Havana Tornado Rises to 6". Voice of America. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  15. ↑ Yaima Puig Meneses (30 January 2019). "Rapid, organized response to tornado damage in Havana". Granma. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  16. ↑ Rodriguez, Andrea (7 February 2019). "After tornado, Cuban state loses monopoly on disaster aid". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
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