Díaz-Canel urges a quick recovery after the scourge of Idalia to Cuba

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel today directed an in-depth, accurate and agile evaluation of the damage caused to the western territory of the island by the passage of tropical storm Idalia, now a hurricane.

At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, the Head of State urged efforts to guarantee the start of the 2023-2024 school year, on September 4, with minimal impacts, reported the official website of the Presidency on the Internet.

Díaz-Canel, the source pointed out, emphasized restoring electrical service in areas damaged by the rains as soon as possible; and do the same to reverse everything that was affected in terms of communications.

He also commented on the importance of taking special care of the crops, and preparing the conditions, with security for inhabitants, in the face of probable floods due to persistent rainfall.

He also highlighted the importance of keeping the population informed, and that authorities stay on the ground and exchange directly with the people.

The president positively valued the preventive work carried out in compliance with the guidelines issued and thanks to the experience accumulated by the country in confronting these hydrometeorological phenomena.

For his part, the second chief of the National Civil Defense Staff, First Colonel Luis Ángel Macareño, reported that so far no accidents have been reported.

He explained that in the province of Pinar del Río, 2,645 families remain protected, while on the Isla de la Juventud there are 266 evacuees, and in Artemisa, more than 1,400 residents have been transferred to safe places.

At the meeting, the director of the Institute of Meteorology, Celso Pasos, offered up-to-date information on the path of Hurricane Idalia, whose bands of heavy rain hit the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa with particular intensity, and the special municipality of Isla de youth.

He reported that abundant rains are forecast for these days, during which the meteorological event will continue to move north. The rainfall, he said, should persist for the next 24 to 48 hours.