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In Santiago de Cuba, tense and fearful hours are being experienced: in light of the imminent impact of Hurricane Melissa, young people from various neighborhoods are racing against time to secure the roofs of their homes with bags of sand, stones, and makeshift rebar.
According to journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada. On his Facebook profile, the images shared from various points in the city show entire families trying to protect their homes from a phenomenon that forecasts describe as one of the most powerful to have threatened the eastern region of the country in recent years.
Young people from Santiago secure their roofs with sandbags, Mayeta wrote in her post, highlighting the efforts of those who, with limited resources and under persistent rain, are trying to withstand the impact of the cyclone.
As local authorities work to contain the alarm, residents are organizing as best they can to protect homes and belongings.
In some neighborhoods, young people collaborate with elderly individuals and single mothers, moving objects, securing windows, or reinforcing fiber cement roofs with bags filled with sand or stones.
The eastern region of Cuba is bracing for one of the most severe impacts in the last decade, with heavy rainfall, winds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour, and swells that could cause significant damage in low-lying areas.
"Wherever Melissa goes, there will be a mark that time will not easily erase," the journalist wrote in his message, accompanied by a call for solidarity: "Send us your images of how you are protecting your home or helping your neighbors. Don't forget the elderly, single mothers, and vulnerable families."
Hurricane Melissa, currently a category 4, continues its path through the Caribbean with sustained winds of 220 kilometers per hour, and it could impact eastern Cuba between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, according to the latest weather reports.
In Santiago de Cuba, where many still remember the devastation caused by Sandy thirteen years ago, today's scenes are a mix of fear, desperation, and resilience: a community that, without waiting for orders, is trying to protect what little it has before the hurricane strikes.
For this reason, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Santiago de Cuba and president of the Provincial Defense Council, Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, issued a alert message regarding the imminent danger of Hurricane Melissa, which threatens to have a devastating impact on the eastern part of the country.
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