Story highlights Cuba, dealing with Hurricane Irma aftermath, says Castro will retire in April instead of February

Castro has indicated first Vice President Miguel-Diaz Canel has his blessing to be the next president

Havana, Cuba (CNN) Hurricane Irma, which devastated much of the Caribbean in September, has claimed a new victim: Raul Castro's succession plans.

On Thursday, Cuban officials said the island was still dealing with the aftermath of the killer storm and needed to postpone long-held plans for Castro, 86, to retire on February 24, 2018, when his second five-year term ends.

It was to have been the first time that Cuba was ruled by a leader not named Castro since the 1959 revolution that swept Raul Castro's older brother Fidel Castro to power.

The wrath of Irma, however, delayed the Communist-run island's single party elections process, which appoints the Cuban National Assembly that in turn selects Cuba's president.

At a meeting of the National Assembly on Thursday, Cuban state-run media announced the naming of Castro's successor will now take place April 19.

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