With Melissa's arrival, help is being sought for a 91-year-old grandmother in Camagüey whose house is on the verge of collapse

The imminent arrival of the hurricane Melissa has put Cuba on alert, and amid the tension caused by the rains and winds, a story from Céspedes, Camagüey, has sparked concern and solidarity.

Sebastiana Olga Cepero Álvarez, a 91-year-old woman confined to bed with a fractured hip, lives in a house on the verge of collapse. The report was published on Facebook by José González, who pleaded for help from the authorities and neighbors in the community before it is too late.

“Her house is in danger of collapsing... please, to the competent authorities of my municipality, go to her house and take action, please, she is an elderly lady,” wrote González, alongside photos showing the completely deteriorated roof and the face of the old woman lying in her bed.

The post has been shared dozens of times in just a few hours, in an attempt to draw the attention of local institutions as Melissa approaches eastern Cuba, bringing heavy rains and gusty winds that could worsen the condition of the most vulnerable homes.

Neighbors in the municipality are calling for urgent intervention, fearing that the storm will worsen the risk of collapse. “She is alone, and her house could fall at any moment,” commented one of the netizens who echoed the call in community groups.

Sebastiana's situation reflects the fragility of the Cuban housing stock, especially in the interior of the country, where thousands of families live in homes with rotten wooden roofs or cracked structures. With the arrival of Hurricane Melissa, fears of a larger disaster multiply.

Just a day ago, several families in the historic center of Camagüey were affected by the partial collapse of a building, which resulted in collapsed roofs and significant material losses. The images circulated at that time showed the precarious structural condition of many homes in the province, where humidity, lack of maintenance, and deteriorating materials have turned any storm into a deadly threat.

So far, local authorities have not reported whether they have visited the site or what kind of assistance the elderly woman would receive. Meanwhile, messages of support and calls for her not to become another victim of neglect and abandonment are multiplying on social media, just as nature once again tests the resilience of the Cuban people.