Yamilé Ramos Cordero, the first secretary of the Communist Party in the province of Pinar del Río, announced that the main impacts in that province are concentrated in electrical infrastructure and agriculture, the latter still unquantified.
In the case of the Isle of Youth, although the weather phenomenon helped improve the volumes of the reservoirs, Helene affected key sectors such as agriculture, tobacco, and electrical service, the latter sector also suffering damage in Artemisa.
Pinar del Río
Only in Pinar del Río the impact on the electricity supply is significant, with around 70,000 customers without service, according to an article in Cubadebate that documented the main impacts in the western provinces after the blows of Helene, which did not make landfall in Cuba but still caused damage.
However, it is noteworthy that the official media did not document in numbers the collapses or the housing impacts, one of the most sensitive sections in the case of these meteorological phenomena.
In the electric sector, it was reported that the line supplying the Sandino municipality has faults, which affects the water supply in the area.
Manipulations are being carried out to restore the service in Guane, although authorities warn that the town of Cortés will likely not receive power in the short term.
Electricity service has been restored in areas such as Minas, Santa Lucía, and Pons, but interruptions are reported in other areas, including Guanito and San Diego, with a total of 438 interruptions in the province, of which 144 are registered in Pinar del Río.
The arrival of seven work groups from Mayabeque, Havana, and Cienfuegos is expected to assist in recovery efforts.
Regarding water supply, the circuit that powers the water wells is also experiencing issues, complicating the supply in the city. In Consolación del Sur, difficulties are reported with the pumping equipment, and work is being done in Minas de Matahambre, specifically at the La Yuquilla station.
In health terms, according to the report from the official media, the surgical medical brigades remain active in each community to address any emergency. However, they warn of leaks in the cesarean sections rooms of the Abel Santamaría Hospital.
Artemis
More than 160,000 residents of Artemisa, out of the 200,000 clients of the Electric Company of Artemisa, are affected in their service following the passage of Hurricane Helene.
According to Iscander Morales Suárez, provincial director of the entity, the biggest outage is concentrated in circuit 1,270 of the capital city, due to the need to replace a transformer at the 110 Kv substation, which is being transported from the municipality of Nueva Paz in Mayabeque, and must be assembled and powered by qualified personnel at the Mariel thermoelectric plant; hence, a definitive solution should be reached around noon this Thursday, he added.
He explained that 35 work groups are working continuously on primary line failures and are checking others to be able to provide service, especially in seven of the 11 municipalities in the area that were completely without power by 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Four hospitals provide service in Artemisa with generators and other services such as water supply to the population.
Isle of Youth
The weather phenomenon contributed to improving the volumes of the reservoirs, but its passage affected key sectors such as agriculture, tobacco, and electricity services.
In 10 of the 28 rain gauges in the territory, more than 100 millimeters of precipitation were recorded, with the Malpaís II reservoir having the highest accumulation at 146.5 mm in 24 hours.
The most significant damage was in the tobacco sector, as approximately 25 hectares of export-quality tobacco seed were damaged, which implies a considerable delay in the planting campaign scheduled to start on October 10th.
There were also damages in the banana plantations.
In the Isle of Youth, 3,697 customers were affected by electrical outages, which represents 12% of the total in the special municipality.
Ignacio Luis Moya Álvarez, director of the Base Dispatch Business Unit in the electric company, stated that five teams are working to restore the service as soon as possible.
The authorities urged to avoid activities such as fishing and reported the temporary suspension of maritime transport.
Although Helene is moving away from Cuba towards Florida, where it is expected to make landfall Thursday night, the so-called "feeding bands" of the hurricane are still crossing over Cuba, causing intense rain in several areas of the western part of the country. There are also reports of somewhat strong winds in some places in the region.
What do you think?
SEE COMMENTS (1)Filed under: