An Okotoks couple avoided the worst of hurricane Rafael in Cuba, riding out the storm with a group of other Canadians.
On Nov. 6, Rafael made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane that left the entire country without power, and in some areas caused flooding and damaged buildings.
Viktoria Steele and her husband Michael rode out the storm at a resort near Varadero, about two hours east of Havana on the country’s northern coast.
Steele said some palm trees were damaged by the wind, but she's not aware of any major damage to buildings in the area.
Estimating that wind speeds were 90 to 100 kilometres per hour, she compared the wind to a very strong Chinook.
“The difference being that here, you’re right on the ocean,” she said. “The waves were just unbelievable.”
With back-up generators, the hotel they are staying at never lost power, but guests had to do without internet, TV and air conditioning.
“The way the manager explained to us, (the hotel) was built to withstand hurricanes,” she said.
Hotel staff began preparing for the storm on Tuesday, the day before it made landfall.
Hanging lights were taken down, doors were secured, tables and chairs were brought inside, and elevators were shut down. Activities were cancelled, the pool was closed and people had to stay inside.
Steele was staying on the top floor of the six-storey hotel, but guests on the top two floors were all moved to lower floors.
Some guests began to get nervous, but Steele said she and her husband didn’t get too worried about the storm. The couple rode out the hurricane with other Canadians staying at the hotel.
“We just all sat around and chatted,” Steele said. “We had our little Bluetooth speaker, and we played our music, and we called it a hurricane party.”
They spent the storm with people from Canada’s east coast, Ontario and Alberta.
For safety reasons, she said no alcohol was served at the resort for a day-and-a-half.
Other hotels lost power, so vacationers were brought to the resort Steele is staying at, and nearby areas are still without power, she said.
It was chaotic at times, with people waiting in long lines at the check-in counter.
“For two days, it was bus after bus after bus of people being transferred from different hotels to come here,” she said.
The couple is scheduled to leave Cuba on Sunday and said they haven’t been notified of any flight delays that will impact their plans.
The storm is now moving westward toward the Gulf of Mexico.