In Santiago de Cuba, an elderly blind man, Luis Ibarra Odio, has been waiting for 13 years for state assistance to repair his house destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, which occurred in 2012. His daughter made an urgent appeal in light of the imminent arrival of Hurricane Melissa, which threatens eastern Cuba with extremely dangerous winds.
“ My father is blind, lives alone, and his house is in terrible condition. Everyone knows, even the local president, but nobody does anything. Thirteen years have gone by and he has never received help, materials, or food,” the woman reported, as recounted by journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada on her social media.
According to information released by Mayeta, residents of Reparto El Campito in the city of Santiago have confirmed that the elderly man lives in abandonment and without basic resources to face the impact of the hurricane, while his daughter is pleading for the intervention of any institution or compassionate individual who can assist him before the arrival of the weather phenomenon.
The hurricane Melissa reached category 5, with winds of 280 km/h and gusts of up to 388 km/h, one of the highest ever recorded in the Caribbean, according to measurements from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States). During a reconnaissance flight, a probe detected that gust in the eye of the system, highlighting its enormous power.
The phenomenon was located about 460 kilometers southwest of Santiago de Cuba, with a central pressure of 906 millibars, and experts warned of torrential rains, coastal flooding, and intense swells that could affect the southern coast of eastern Cuba.
The meteorologist José Rubiera warned that Melissa is a “gigantic and monstrous” system that could approach Cuban territory between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as a category 4 or 3 hurricane.
Amid the alert for Hurricane Melissa, a similar situation was reported in Camagüey, where Sebastiana Olga Cepero Álvarez, a 91-year-old woman with a fractured hip, remains bedridden in a house on the verge of collapse. Her case was brought to light by José González, who urgently requested help from the authorities of the municipality of Céspedes due to the risk of the house collapsing (see details).
“Her house is at risk of collapsing... please, the relevant authorities in my municipality, come to her house and take action,” González wrote alongside images showing the roof about to cave in and the elderly woman lying in bed. Neighbors in the area have also reported that the woman lives alone and her house could fall at any moment, as the calls for intervention grow before a tragedy occurs.
The plight of Luis Ibarra Odio is not an isolated incident. Back in 2020, the woman from Santiago, Niorvis Deli Lamota, reported that she had been waiting eight years for materials to rebuild her home in the town of El Cristo, following the passage of Hurricane Sandy. “That tarp can't hold up anymore. Sometimes I wish I could just die to avoid the struggle I’m going through with this house,” said the woman, who also suffers from several illnesses that prevent her from working.
Like Ibarra, Deli Lamota claimed to have sent letters and requests to local authorities without receiving any response. In her case, the provincial governor promised assistance that never materialized.
Other victims, such as Teresa Caballero Romero, also reported being ignored despite official promises, reflecting a structural crisis of neglect and social disempowerment in one of the provinces hardest hit by hurricanes in Cuba.
While the country prepares for the possible impact of Melissa, cases of vulnerable people without safe shelter reveal the fragility of the Cuban assistance system. Luis Ibarra Odio, blind and without resources, is still waiting for the promise of help made to him after Sandy to be fulfilled, before another cyclone puts his life at risk again.
“This case reflects the harsh reality faced by many elderly people in Cuba, who after years of unfulfilled promises, continue to wait in hope for a helping hand to protect them in critical moments,” highlighted journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada.
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