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Cuba

Cuba: Hurricane Irma - Emergency appeal operation update no.1 (MDRCU000)

Attachments

A. Situation Analysis

A.1 Description of the disaster

The strong impact of Hurricane Irma caused severe damage to people's livelihoods, basic services, and infrastructure in rural and coastal communities in the central and western regions of the country. Sectors such as housing, electric power generation, agriculture, communications, public health, education, culture, and sports suffered significant damage and recovery efforts are complex and costly. Local governments are increasing measures to ensure food and water supplies as well as to protect essential goods for affected populations.

Of the 1,863,589 people who were protected in the wake of Hurricane Irma, 11,689 continue to receive state support with food and other essential items, in Ciego de Avila, Camagüey, Villa Clara, Holguin, Sancti Spíritus, Havana, Las Tunas, Matanzas and Guantánamo.

A.2 Summary of the current response

Overview of the Host National Society

4,225 volunteers are activated, of which 2,533 are from the operations and relief groups (GEOS in Spanish), carrying out recovery work in the affected regions in sanitation and epidemic control including 531 volunteers working in the protection centres. The Restoring Family Link office is working with 168 volunteers at the municipal level, in the 15 provinces and the central headquarters) with 1161 volunteers are kept active.

Overview of Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in country

The IFRC continues providing support and coordination with the CRC through its Country Cluster Support Team based in Haiti, and through the Regional Office for the Americas based in Panama. The IFRC’s communications manager from the Regional Office was deployed from the onset of the emergency to support the National Society. In addition, the head of the Country Cluster Support Team and the regional disaster management coordinator (also emergency shelter focal point) were deployed to the country on 13 September to coordinate response actions of this operation. The sectors and needs addressed by this Emergency Appeal were identified by the CRC in coordination with the government. Furthermore, the IFRC and the CRC have already had meetings with DG-ECHO in the field to coordinate response actions and a proposal is currently underway. Two additional Regional Intervention Team (RIT) members (general and shelter) could be made available for deployment if needed.

The Norwegian Red Cross, who has had presence in the country, deployed one staff member to support the National Society’s response efforts. In addition, two delegates (one from the Canadian Red Cross Society and one from the Spanish Red Cross) were deployed on 14 September with the aim to contribute to the response requirements of the Cuban Red Cross. The Canadian Red Cross Society coordinated with the National Society and the IFRC to dispatch relief items for 500 families.

In addition, the Cuban Red Cross coordinated bilaterally with the Spanish Red Cross, through its permanent cooperation programme, a shipment of new clothes and footwear for adult, and psycho-pedagogical centres including children without subsidiary protection, which will not be reflected in this plan of action.

Movement Coordination

The IFRC’s regional office for the Americas (ARO) has been sharing official information from the CRC with all Movement members. In addition, CRC led coordination meetings at country level with the Spanish Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross Society and the IFRC.

At the onset of Hurricane Irma, communication was established with Movement partners to keep them informed of the storm’s path through the Caribbean. Similarly, the necessary information mechanisms were established through the Partnerships and Resource Development (PRD) department.