Cuba faces nationwide power outage and hurricane landfall

[Anchor]

A nationwide power outage has occurred in Cuba, located on the opposite side of the Earth in South America, leading to a collapse of the national power grid.

Millions are spending their nights relying on the light of their mobile phones and candles.

To make matters worse, a hurricane has also made landfall, complicating recovery efforts.

Kim Kyung-soo reports.

[Report]

The only lights visible on the streets without streetlights are from car headlights.

Since Oct. 18th, Cuba, a country with a population of ten million, has turned into an island of darkness as electricity has been cut off in most areas.

On a moonless night, the view outside the window in the city where our compatriots live is nothing but darkness.

In addition to food shortages, there are also disruptions in the supply of tap water.

[Jung Ho-hyun/Principal of the Korean School in Cuba: "The refrigerator is almost empty, and I don't know what to do with the food. Right now, my gas has just been cut off. It seems that some of our Korean community members are starting to run out of water as well, as their water tanks are running dry."]

Cuban citizens, who have been experiencing frequent power outages, protested in the dark by banging pots and pans, urging the government to conserve electricity.

With no promise of when the electricity will return, millions are spending their nights with the light of their mobile phones and candles.

[Mari/Resident of Santo Suárez: "We haven't had electricity for three days. The food has spoiled. Spending four days without electricity is abuse to the children."]

With aging power plants and a lack of fuel, the Cuban Foreign Minister claims that the power outage occurred due to a disruption in supplies caused by the United States.

Hurricane Oscar, accompanied by strong winds, has also made landfall in Cuba, making power restoration efforts difficult.

Cuba is one of the countries designated by the U.S. as a state sponsor of terrorism, along with North Korea and Iran, and is subject to various trade sanctions.

This is Kim Kyung-soo reporting for KBS News from Washington.