The tragedy unleashed in San Antonio del Sur with the passage of Hurricane Oscar through Guantánamo continues to leave testimonies of the panic experienced by its residents due to the floods that inundated the municipality.
This is the case of Yarisleidis Estevez Durán, better known in the area as "Violeta," who recounted how they managed to escape from the community of Macambo amid the chaos caused by the meteorological event and the lack of information for the residents of the area.
"One is prepared for the river's floods, but not for this," said Estevez Durán in statements shared on Facebook by a user identified as Dianelbis Delfino Martínez, director of the Abel Santamaría Cuadrado primary school in the nearby municipality of Yateras.
"With the fear of losing her parents still fresh, she confesses that she has not been able to enter her house, located in the community of Macambo, because it is covered in mud due to a landslide. 'Thank God we are alive,' she always reiterates, this young girl," said the official in her post.
The home of the Guantanamo family was covered in mud, just like many others in the area, due to landslides caused by heavy rainfall, which resulted in up to 500 millimeters of precipitation in just a few hours.
"The hurricane stalled for almost 24 hours between Imías and San Antonio del Sur. We are in an area that is low, surrounded by mountains, and the runoff from the mountains contributes to the volume of water, along with the rain that fell, which caused the river to rise," recently explained Cuba's Deputy Prime Minister, Inés María Chapman Waugh, in statements to the national press.
“It was over 500 millimeters in a short time. It was a very intense rain. It had never happened before. A rain so intense, no,” added the leader, who referenced that years ago there was “a certain flooding, without reaching the town, with less than 300 millimeters.”
In addition to "Violeta," the testimony of Alellanis Díaz Navarro, a worker from the Caribe store chain, was included, where she recounted how she managed to "save herself and her family from the fury of the rising waters of Hurricane Oscar."
Díaz Navarro "was sleeping in her room. Suddenly, she felt drops falling on her, quickly realizing that water was coming in through the door. Within a few minutes, the water was up to her shoulders," the chain of stores where the young woman works posted on Facebook.
With the house completely flooded, the woman attempted to leave her room, but a "wardrobe was obstructing the door," blocking her path. Eventually, Díaz Navarro managed to escape through "a small opening in her room's door."
"The first thing she did was look for her family, and together they tried to climb onto the neighbor's roof. She mentions that it has been tough and she feels tremendous sadness, but she is convinced that she will move forward," indicated the publication from the chain of stores belonging to the Business Administration Group S.A. (GAESA), under the control of the military and the leadership of the Cuban regime.
The director of the Abel Santamaría Cuadrado primary school concluded her publication with the same optimistic message and confidence in the leaders.
"Today, in the midst of pain, a glimmer of joy, light, faith, and hope: young soldiers from the Revolutionary Armed Forces clean, revive, and make functional her humble home. Today, after so many days without laughter, she received a warm, affectionate, and special embrace from those who care for her."
Regime propaganda aimed at concealing evidence of the disaster.
The alarm over the arrival of this cyclone was exacerbated by a widespread blackout that left large areas of Cuba without electricity for several days.
This interruption affected communication and hindered evacuation and preparation efforts prior to the hurricane's arrival. Many families were left without access to weather information and unable to charge mobile devices to receive alerts or contact their loved ones.
Residents have criticized the government's lack of preparedness and management, noting that the absence of electricity hindered Civil Defense from effectively deploying alert systems. Despite evacuation efforts in San Antonio del Sur and Imías, where more than 15,000 people were evacuated, some residents were caught off guard by the river's rise, with no time to evacuate or seek refuge in higher ground.
The ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel declared the priority of focusing efforts on the recovery of Guantánamo. However, the extent of the damage, combined with economic and logistical limitations, poses a significant challenge for the region.
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