HAVANA (AP) — Cuba was left reeling Thursday after a fierce Category 3 hurricane ripped across the island and knocked out the country’s power grid.
The magnitude of the impact remained unclear through the early hours of the day, but forecasters warned that Hurricane Rafael could bring “life-threatening” storm surges, winds and flash floods to Cuba after ravaging parts of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.
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Waves break on the beach during the passing of Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man walks through the wind and rain brought by Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man walks through the wind and rain brought by Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People at a bus stop shield themselves with cardboard amid wind and rain during the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man walks through the wind and rain brought by Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A Cuban flag shredded by the winds of Hurricane Rafael flies above the statue of General Calixto Garcia in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
On Wednesday evening, massive waves lashed at Havana’s shores as sharp winds and rain whipped at the historic cityscape, leaving trees littered on flooded roads. Much of the city was dark and deserted.
As it plowed across Cuba, the storm slowed to a Category 2 hurricane chugging into the Gulf of Mexico near northern Mexico and southern Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
But many Cubans were left picking up the pieces from the night before, with a strange sense of déjà vu after a rocky few weeks in the Caribbean nation.
In October, the island was hit by a one-two punch. First, Cuba was roiled by stretching island-wide blackouts stretching on for days, a product of the island’s energy crisis. Shortly after, it was slapped by another powerful hurricane that killed at least six people in the eastern part of the island.
It stoked discontent already simmering in Cuba amid an ongoing economic crisis, which has pushed many to migrate from Cuba.
While the State Department issued a travel warning for Cuba because of the story, the Cuban government also raised an alarm, asking citizens to hunker down.
Classes and public transport were suspended on parts of the island and authorities canceled flights in and out of Havana and Varadero. Thousands of people in the west of the island were evacuated as a preventative measure, and many more like Silvia Pérez, a 72-year-old retiree living in a coastal area of Havana, scrambled to prepare.
“This is a night I don’t want to sleep through, between the battering air and the trees,” Pérez said. “I’m scared for my friends and family.”
The concern came after the storm knocked out power in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, where it also unleased flooding and landslides.
Rafael is the 17th named storm of the season.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the 2024 hurricane season was likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast called for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Waves break on the beach during the passing of Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man walks through the wind and rain brought by Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man walks through the wind and rain brought by Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People at a bus stop shield themselves with cardboard amid wind and rain during the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man walks through the wind and rain brought by Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A Cuban flag shredded by the winds of Hurricane Rafael flies above the statue of General Calixto Garcia in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Shares recovered from early losses in Asia on Thursday after U.S. stocks stormed to records as investors wagered on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world.
Markets also were turning their attention to the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, due later in the day.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.1% at 39,458.86, while the Kospi in Seoul rebounded to pick up 0.5%, to 2,576.30.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 8,204.80.
Chinese shares also climbed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9% to 20,729.01. The Shanghai Composite index also was 0.9% higher, at 3,413.47.
Trump has promised to slap blanket 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports, raising them still more if Beijing makes a move to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan.
Investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean. Higher tariffs on imports from China would add to the burdens Beijing is facing as it struggles to revive slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.
Higher tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and other countries also would raise the risk of trade wars and other disruptions to the global economy.
But Trump's win raised expectations that Beijing may ramp up its spending and other stimulus to counter such trends. The Standing Committee of China's legislature is meeting this week and is expected to announce further measures by Friday.
On Wednesday, the U.S. stock market, Elon Musk’s Tesla, banks and bitcoin all stormed higher, as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world. Among the losers the market sees: the renewable-energy industry and potentially anyone worried about higher inflation.
The S&P 500 rallied 2.5% to 5,929.04 for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 3.6% to 43,729.93, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 3% to 18,983.47. All three indexes topped records they had set in recent weeks.
The impact of Trump's second term will likely depend on whether his fellow Republicans win control of Congress, and that’s not yet clear.
Investors see Trump’s policies potentially leading to stronger economic growth. That helps push prices down and yields up for Treasurys. Tax cuts under Trump could further swell the U.S. government’s deficit, increasing borrowing and forcing yields even higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.43% from 4.29% late Tuesday, which is a major move for the bond market. It’s up substantially from August, when it was below 4%.
Investors expect the incoming president's policies, particularly higher tariffs, to fan inflation and add costs to U.S. household bills. Sharp cutbacks in immigration could also leave businesses shorthanded, forcing companies to raise wages for workers faster and put more upward pressure on prices.
Much of Wall Street’s run to records this year was built on expectations for coming cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve, as inflation has headed back down to its 2% target. Easier interest rates help boost the economy, but they can also give inflation more fuel.
The Fed will announce its latest decision on interest rates Thursday, where the expectation is still for a cut, according to data from CME Group. But traders are already paring back forecasts for how many cuts the Fed will provide through the middle of next year.
In other dealings early Thursday, the U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, slipping to 154.46 from 154.62. The euro rose to $1.0740 from $1.0730.
U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 45 cents to $72.14 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 55 cents at $75.47.
The price of bitcoin slipped to $75,780 after hitting an all-time high above $76,480 on Wednesday, according to CoinDesk. Trump has pledged to make the country “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin.
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
A man passes a video monitor on the side of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
People pass the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A TV camera screen shows the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Members of media stand near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader talks on the phone at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A tv cameraman films the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
