“Apocalyptic” storm destroys tobacco infrastructure.
Hurricane Ian made landfall early this morning in Pinar del Río, Cuba, tearing away homes and tobacco barns as it cut a path of destruction across the westernmost portion of the island. The storm, a category three hurricane when it struck in La Coloma around 4:30 this morning, packed sustained winds of more than 125 miles per hour.
“Estamos vivos”—we are alive—tobacco grower Hirochi Robaina told Cigar Aficionado this morning. He owns Cuba’s best-known tobacco farm, Cuchillas de Barbacoa, which was torn apart by the storm, damage that Robaina called “apocalyptic, a real disaster.” Photos of his farm showed considerable damage to buildings and barns, with tractors flipped over, roofs shorn from buildings, trees stripped of foliage and tobacco tarps shredded by the winds.