Cuba with no loss of human lives after hurricane Rafael

Cuban government authorities confirmed at a press conference that no loss of human lives has been reported so far following the passage of Hurricane Rafael through the western region of the country.

First Colonel Luis Angel Macareño, second chief of the National Civil Defense General Staff, pointed out that the passage of two extreme hydro-meteorological phenomena in two very distant points of the national territory, with very few days of difference, makes it difficult to estimate the exact associated economic losses.

Regarding the movement of Rafael, he pointed out that most of the damages are due to the destructive effect of the winds and not so much to the intensity of the rainfall.

Macareño explained the prompt activation of groups committed to evaluate and certify the magnitude of the impacts and to allocate efforts to recovery, with the participation of troops from the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and the Ministry of the Interior, mainly aimed at clearing access roads to the communities.

The meteorological situation brought additional challenges in the Guantanamo municipalities affected by Hurricane Oscar, where it was necessary to decree an information phase on November 2 due to a trough that caused new floods in the affected territories and the evacuation of local residents, he added.

Regarding the losses in Havana, Yanet Hernandez Perez, vice-president of the Provincial Defense Council, said that the most difficult scenarios are located in the municipalities of La Lisa, Marianao, Playa, Boyeros, Plaza de la Revolución, Centro Habana and Habana Vieja.

She advanced the estimation of millions of dollars in losses in the city, even without having exact figures because they also include the costs of the forces, means and fuel deployed to reach the places.

At the time of the update, she exemplified, there were more than 461 total and partial collapses due to light roofs, falling walls and stairs, losses that would have been greater if more than 98,000 people from the capital had not been moved to shelters and the homes of relatives, neighbors and friends.

Regarding the damage to the electric infrastructure, she stressed the difficulty in establishing precise diagnoses due to the fact that some structures are still under fallen trees and building debris, but there was evidence of more than 965 poles and 100 transformers on the ground, and a number of meters of fallen cables to be specified.

Hernandez Perez added that this reality slows down the efforts for the reestablishment of the service in the territory and also implies costly equipment to replace due to the restrictions of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States.

She highlighted the constant accompaniment of ministers and other representatives of the Cuban government in the 15 municipalities of the capital, where they decide on the ground the priorities to be followed according to the instructions of the President of the National Defense Council, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez.