While Hurricane Melissa continues its devastating advance towards eastern Cuba, local authorities in Gibara, in the province of Holguín, are resorting to rudimentary methods to alert the population of the imminent danger.
In a video shared by the opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer García, a vintage blue Lada can be seen, with the trunk open and two improvised speakers inside, driving through the streets of the municipality while playing a radio weather report at full volume.
“In a rundown vehicle from the Soviet era, they are informing the population about Hurricane Melissa. The most vulnerable are without food, without medicine, without anything. Many homes are in poor condition, as in the whole country,” wrote Ferrer on his account on X (formerly Twitter).
The images depict a scene that illustrates the precariousness facing the emergency in many rural areas of Cuba: deteriorating streets, fragile homes, an energy crisis, and widespread blackouts, as well as the lack of other technological means to issue emergency alerts more effectively.
Hurricane Melissa, a category 5, has sustained winds of 295 km/h and is already striking Jamaica with great force. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that the system will impact southeastern Cuba early Wednesday morning, bringing torrential rains, extreme winds, and storm surges.
In Holguín, Las Tunas, and other eastern provinces, residents are preparing with the few resources available, reinforcing roofs and seeking refuge in schools or state buildings.
The scene in Gibara encapsulates the country's vulnerability to natural disasters: a town that suffers the arrival of a catastrophic event, adding to the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by the incompetence and turmoil unleashed by the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel, a historical "continuity" of a regime that prioritizes its own perpetuation in power over the well-being of its citizens.
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