Cuban government focuses attention on province hit by Oscar

The Cuban government is carrying out a series of actions to support the province of Guantánamo, located in the easternmost part of the country, which remains in an alert phase as a result of the flooding caused by tropical storm Oscar.

According to Colonel Luis Ángel Macareño, of the Civil Defense, rescue and salvage work is still being carried out in the municipalities of San Antonio del Sur and Imías in response to the flooding caused by the phenomenon.

During an extraordinary session of the National Defense Council held on Tuesday, Macareño warned about the saturation of the soil in these territories and the need to immediately address an evaluation process of the damages and needs.

Minister of Agriculture Ydael Pérez reported that work is being done on four main directions: supplying food to those affected, to people who perform support work; completing the standard family basket, emphasizing on the population of Imías and San Antonio del Sur, and providing other additional products for consumption.

For the entire province, food products such as flour are being prioritized, and the strategy includes direct attention to the most vulnerable families.

By order of the country’s highest leadership, a government work group is in Guantánamo, and will remain in place for a long time to oversee the recovery work along with the authorities of the province.

According to preliminary figures, the damage to housing is quantified at 1,282 houses, of which 1,183 suffered total roof collapses, 1,048 partial roof collapses, and 51 total collapses.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces have carried out 493 rescues so far, preventing the loss of human lives in flooded areas, as reported by the second in command of the Department of Operations of the National Staff of Civil Defense, Eduardo Cross, who explained on the National TV system, that 4,865 persons are sheltered in evacuation centers, while another 443 remain in the homes of relatives, friends and neighbors.