Seventy percent of Cuba's population now has power, four days after a nationwide blackout triggered by the collapse of the island's largest power plant, and as the country recovers from Hurricane Oscar,

Electricity outages have paralyzed an already-crippled economy, leading to shortages of everything from cash to running water.

Following three days of nationwide blackouts caused by the collapse of Cuba’s electrical system, power was restored to most of Havana on Monday, after Cuban authorities gave up efforts to restore the entire grid for now and opted to try to hook up individual regions around the country.

"Around 50 percent of clients" now have power, Havana's electricity company said in a report published by state-run news portal Cubadebate. Power went out for the communist island's 10 million people on Friday after the collapse of the nation's largest power plant crippled the grid.

Many Cubans waited in anguish Sunday as electricity on much of the island had yet to be restored days after an island-wide blackout. Their concerns were also raised as Hurricane Oscar made landfall in the southeastern Bahamas and was heading toward their country.

Hurricane Oscar left six people dead after hitting Cuba over the weekend during a major power blackout, authorities said Monday, as electricity was restored to most of the capital.

People resorted to cooking with improvised wood stoves on the streets before the food went bad in refrigerators.