Cuban President evaluates recovery in territories damaged by Hurricane Ian

The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (CC-PCC) and president of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel evaluated Friday the progress of recovery efforts in the territories affected by Hurricane Ian.

In the check-up meeting, the president was accompanied by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa, both members of the Political Bureau of the CC-PCC.

As the rehabilitation work enters its second month, the repair of the affected houses is the main battle front.

In Pinar del Río, the province most affected by the hurricane, 4,158 buildings were recovered, most of them with partial damage to their roofs.

The president of the Provincial Defense Council, Yamilé Ramos reported that the last days were favorable in terms of the arrival of construction materials to the territory, the local production of these supplies, and the volume of sales of these products.

Félix Duarte, member of the CC-PCC secretariat and head of its agri-food department, said that there is also a better functioning of the processing offices, after visiting four municipalities that had problems.

During the meeting, it was reported that 80.65 percent of the electric service has been restored and 168 of the 175 water pumping sources are working.

Meanwhile, some 100 hectares around the provincial capital are ready for short-cycle crops and 8,512 tons of tobacco have been recovered.

The highest authorities of the rest of the territories affected by Ian also reported on the progress of the recovery work, particularly in the housing sector.