Situation:
Cuba held this Sunday 14 September a nation-wide clean-up effort to clear streets and roads of fallen trees and other debris caused by the destructive hurricanes GUSTAV and IKE, which affected the nation within ten days of each other.
These two powerful storms added to the damages caused by tropical storm FAY and hurricane HANNA, which have affected this country during the current hurricane season.
Along with this cleanup, the Health authorities have called to reinforce community and home hygiene measures to avoid the outbreak of diseases. Special attention is given to the eradication of rats and mosquitoes.
Medical teams are working in the protection of thousands of persons that are still evacuated as their homes were damaged or destroyed. The teams also monitor the catering services to ensure the highest sanitary quality of food.
In turn, two important domestic productive sectors have restarted operations. These are the nickel industry, with plants located in the Eastern province of Holguin, and the petrochemical industry in Cienfuegos. All these installations had ceased operations due to hurricane IKE.
Cash donations in support of the
recovery efforts, can be made through the following bank account:
Account Number: 033473
Bank: Banco Financiero Internacional ( BFI)
Account Title: MINVEC Huracanes restauración de daños
Measures adopted by the Government of Cuba:
As a preventive measure before the arrival in Cuba of hurricanes GUSTAV and IKE, more than 2,7 million persons were lodged at safe places, 2,250,000 of them in the homes of family and/or friends.
Over 2,000 command centers were activated, along with 1,500 food kitchens and some 2,200 shelters, 1,200 of which were schools. Additionally, 160,000 persons were mobilized, with 9,500 means of transport, 1,400 bulldozers and other special vehicles and some 4,500 portable radios and other means of communication.
The national authorities are prioritizing the rehabilitation of basic services to the population. In the food sector, the efforts are addressed to the reopening of food shops and other commercial institutions and gastronomic centers as a way to help the population to reach the products it needs. The authorities have called for speeded-up repair work, and to recycle used wood and parts of fallen roofs that might still be of use.
This Monday, 15 September, educational activities continued for all levels in the country. A huge effort is being registered in several localities to ensure that all students receive education.
To replace classrooms and schools destroyed by the successive hurricanes, organizational measures have been taken including turning into temporary classrooms extra rooms in private homes whose residents offered to help in this emergency. The normal feeding of the students is guaranteed and continues.
Convoys of trucks loaded with products prioritized for the ongoing recuperation activities continue arriving in localities, even those more isolated, with needed articles.
The newspaper Granma today reports that as of 17 September the Ministry of the Agriculture will begin receiving requests for uncultivated state-owned land to be given free of charge to those persons, natural or juridical, who wish to put them to work in a rational and sustainable fashion. The note underscores that the purpose of this measure is to recover in the earliest possible period the national capacity to produce foodstuffs and to get the highest results from this land. It is also a way to face the world food crisis and contributes to the recovery of the domestic production of foodstuffs in view of the devastating consequences of the recent hurricanes that have affected Cuba.
In turn, the Ministry of Communications indicated that it will ensure payment to retirees of their September check at all postal offices in the country.