HAVANA (AP) — Cuban officials said they had begun to restore some power Wednesday after Hurricane Ian knocked out electricity to the entire island while devastating some of the country’s most important tobacco farms when it hit the island’s western tip as a major storm.

At least two people were reported killed.

The Energy and Mines Ministry announced it had restored energy to three regions by activating two large power plants in Felton and Nuevitas and was working on getting others back online.

Lights started to flicker on in the capital, Havana. Still, much of the city and other parts of western Cuba remained without power on Wednesday in the wake of the major hurricane, which had advanced northward to Florida. It was the first time in memory — perhaps ever — that the whole island had lost power.

On Tuesday, Ian hit Cuba, which has been struggling with an economic crisis and has faced frequent power outages in recent months. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the island’s western end, devastating Pinar del Río province, where much of the tobacco used for Cuba’s iconic cigars is grown.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated, and others fled the area ahead of the arrival of Ian, which caused flooding, damaged houses and toppled trees. State media reported two deaths in the province: a woman killed by a falling wall and another by a collapsed roof.

Ian’s winds damaged one of Cuba’s most prestigious tobacco farms, Finca Robaina.

“It was apocalyptic, a real disaster,” said Hirochi Robaina, owner of the farm that bears his name and that his grandfather made known internationally.

Robaina posted photos on social media of wood-and-thatch roofs smashed to the ground, greenhouses in rubble and wagons overturned.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the affected region, telling the population, “Although the first impact is very painful, there's nothing to do but overcome the adversity.”

“Being in the hurricane was terrible for me, but we are here alive,” said Pinar del Rio resident Yusimí Palacios, who asked authorities for a roof and a mattress.

Officials had set up 55 shelters and took steps to protect crops, especially tobacco.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Cuba suffered “significant wind and storm surge impacts” when the hurricane struck with top sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph).

Ian was even stronger Wednesday as it approached the coast of Florida with top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), threatening to cause catastrophic damage there.

In Cuba, local government station TelePinar reported heavy damage at the main hospital in Pinar del Rio city, tweeting photos of collapsed ceilings and downed trees. No deaths were reported.

Videos on social media showed downed power lines and cut-off roads in the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa and Mayabeque. A hospital in Pinar del Río was damaged.

“The town is flooded,” said farmer Andy Muñoz, 37, who lives in Playa Cajío in Artemisa.

He said many people lost their belongings due to the storm surge.

“I spent the hurricane at home with my husband and the dog. The masonry and zinc roof of the house had just been installed. But the storm tore it down,” said Mercedes Valdés, who lives along the highway connecting Pinar del Río to San Juan y Martínez. “We couldn’t rescue our things ... we just ran out.”

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AP journalist Osvaldo Angulo in Pinar del Rio contributed to this report.

Some high-ranking members of the Trump administration say they experienced feelings of vertigo, memory loss and confusion while they were on White House grounds, as CBS reported. The symptoms are similar to those of American diplomats who've been diagnosed with having "Havana Syndrome" while in foreign countries since 2016.

The stories from officials have been corroborated by former National Security Adviser John Bolton, the report says.

Bolton said, "If we were at war and an adversary could disable the president and his top advisers, or commanders in the field, it could render us extraordinarily vulnerable." He said, "We don't know that that's the threat we're facing. But I would much rather focus on finding out the answer now, rather than finding out later when it may be too late."

William Burns, the director of the CIA said, "It's a very complicated issue, you know, dealing with a whole range of incidents which have… different kinds of explanations for them as well." He said, "It's a very charged issue emotionally as well. I understand that very clearly. And that's what… makes me even more determined not only to ensure people get the care that they deserve but also that we get to the bottom of this."

Earlier this month, a panel of intelligence experts wasn't able to identify a single culprit for apparent brain injuries reported by U.S. personnel that have been linked to so-called “Havana syndrome. But officials who briefed reporters Wednesday say several potential causes remain plausible, including the use of devices that emit beams of directed energy.

The CIA announced that the agency considers it unlikely Russia or another foreign adversary is mounting a broad campaign to attack Americans with energy-emitting devices. But in a smaller number of cases, psychological factors alone cannot explain the symptoms and other characteristics displayed by people affected.

Hundreds of American diplomats and intelligence officers attribute their brain injuries and other symptoms to what's come to be known as “Havana syndrome.”

The findings are drawing immediate criticism from those who have reported cases and from advocates who accuse the government of long dismissing the array of ailments. Most cases under review by intelligence officers have been linked to other known medical conditions or to environmental factors. That's according to one official familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence.