Cuba is reeling after a powerful Category 3 hurricane ripped across the island and fierce winds knocked out the country’s power grid. The magnitude of the impact from Hurricane Rafael remained unclear through the early hours of Thursday.

The Category 3 storm knocked out the country's entire power grid just before making landfall, making it almost impossible for people to receive radio or television updates.

Hurricane Rafael pushed into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday night after plowing across western Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane with winds so powerful it knocked out the entire country's power grid.