Devastating. That is the situation left by the impact of Hurricane Melissa in the communities of the Guamá municipality, in Santiago de Cuba, the area where the powerful weather phenomenon made landfall early Wednesday morning.
After hours of great uncertainty, the first images began to circulate in recent hours showing the devastation in that municipality of Santiago, especially in localities like Aserradero and Boca de Dos Ríos.
The graphic testimonies come in part from Shalem Perdomo, a Santiago resident in the United States, who published on Facebook videos and photos that confirm the extent of the hurricane's impact in Guamá.
The images are striking: fallen trees, homes without roofs, downed power poles, impassable roads, and a territory completely cut off from land access.
The situation generated a wave of distress among those with family in the area. Desperate comments started pouring in through social media
Anguish of Emigrant Families: Messages Received by CiberCuba
On Thursday, CiberCuba received an urgent message from several Cuban families residing in the United States, who requested information and humanitarian assistance for the municipality of Guamá, where Hurricane Melissa made landfall with sustained winds of 180 km/h and higher gusts.
The senders assured that after the direct impact of the hurricane, no official or unofficial report had been published regarding the current status of the municipality, which remains cut off from communication.
“We fear that Guamá may have been one of the hardest hit places by the hurricane. We do not know the status of the population or if all lives are safe,” noted one of the messages received on CiberCuba.
In addition to requesting any available information about the municipality, these families were seeking guidance on how to contact local authorities or Civil Defense, and they were asking for their situation to be made visible so that humanitarian aid could arrive as soon as possible.
The call of journalist Cuscó Tarradell
Hours later, the journalist Cuscó Tarradell shared images of Shalem Perdomo and expressed his concern about the magnitude of the event.
In a social media post, he/she wrote:
"If a nearly total evacuation of that territory truly took place, along with the protection of residents in sturdy houses of families or neighbors, schools with solid structures becoming evacuation centers, and medical clinics in the area, then many lives will have been saved."
A warning was added: “Let’s see when the helicopters reach that cut-off territory.”
Hours later, Cuscó Tarradell himself updated the information after communicating with members of the Active Provincial Defense Council in Santiago de Cuba.
“I have just established communication with members of the Active Provincial Defense Council in the Santiago territory. So far, there are no reported deaths in the mountainous areas due to Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba. Guamá, Segundo Frente, and Tercer Frente are cut off from land and fiber optic communication.” he wrote.
"About 30,000 people were evacuated in time in Guamá. Reconnaissance helicopters are preparing to head to the area," he added.
The eye of the hurricane made landfall at Playa El Francés
Guamá was the entry point of Hurricane Melissa to Cuba, specifically through the area of Playa El Francés, on the southern coast of Santiago de Cuba.
The weather phenomenon entered the country as a category 3, causing severe damage and total communication blackouts in much of eastern Cuba.
On Facebook, users mentioned that the situation in that area is critical:
"Please go check if you can reach El Francés when you can to gather information. There are family members there and we haven’t been able to get any information about them." "I still haven't heard anything about my grandparents, for God's sake, someone say something about El Francés." "What do we know about Caletón Blanco, please?" several concerned internet users asked.
Other locations such as Jatía, la Granjita, Chivirico, or Segundo Frente are also the focus of desperate searches by relatives who have been unable to contact their loved ones.
An institutional and humanitarian response is urgent
With a remote municipality, without electricity, without land access, and thousands of residents lacking communication with the outside world, the situation in Guamá demands an immediate institutional response and urgent humanitarian mobilization.
From civil society and the exile community, calls for help and proposals to coordinate assistance have already been made. However, it is essential for the Cuban authorities to communicate the real situation transparently and to establish channels for the entry of international aid.
“We deserve coherent information”, a user claimed on social media, with no news about their relatives in Chivirico.
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