A total of 29 people, including eight children, who had become trapped in the town of La Camilo due to flooding caused by the rising Cauto River during the passage of Hurricane Melissa through the province of Holguín, have been the first to be rescued from that area on Thursday afternoon.
A helicopter from the Air Force transported to Urbano Noris eight children, 11 women, nine men, and one disabled person, reported the local station Radio SG La voz del Azúcar.
Still 94 people remain to be rescued in La Camilo, who will be brought out of the community gradually, according to official reports.
So far, two rescue flights have been carried out on an Eastern Army helicopter. On the first trip, eight children, four women, and one elderly individual were transported.
Earlier this Thursday, Radio SG La voz del Azúcar reported that, up to that moment, there had been no reports of loss of human life and that 150 people, including 25 children, remained in the locality awaiting rescue.
According to the source itself, "yesterday there were two attempts to rescue them, but the swollen river provided no access."
"The conditions remain critical for the flood victims in the southern sugarcane area due to the rise of the Cauto River," the broadcaster stated, adding that they had been contacted and confirmed that the river level had decreased and they were now able to consume food.
The communicator José E. González Marín confirmed on his Facebook profile that the waters of the Cauto River have receded and celebrated that, as a result, some people were able to "reach their homes and restock on food, before returning to the bakery and the office, to await a definitive solution for their rescue."
According to the radio station, the heads of the FAR have been analyzing all the options for carrying out the rescue. "So far, the one that seems most certain is to enter through the boundary of Ingenio Viejo in the municipality of Cauto Cristo, in the province of Granma, and access La Camilo," the report specified.
He added that party and government authorities in the province of Holguín were advising the operations from the Defense Council in Urbano Noris.
Flooding isolated several communities in Holguín
On Wednesday afternoon, it was reported that the floods caused by the overflow of the Cauto River left several communities in the Urbano Noris municipality in Holguín – including La Camilo – cut off, and were preventing, at that moment, the completion of rescue operations following Hurricane Melissa.
Local authorities warned of a "critical state" due to flooding and reported at least eight ongoing incidents, prioritizing the areas of Estrada, San Bartolo, Travesía, Cauto 3, and the Urban Popular Council of Sur.
The station Radio SG La voz del Azúcar reported that contact had been established with the residents of Travesía, La Camilo, 20 Rosas, Sabanilla, Saín, Dos Bocas, and Estrada. "All of them are awaiting rescue. Attempts have been made through various means to reach these rural communities, but the volume of water has caused these operations to fail," it stated.
The adverse hydrometeorological conditions frustrated successive attempts to reach these rural settlements. The volume of water accumulated on roads and crossings caused several planned operations to break the isolation to fail.
In the afternoon of Wednesday, forces from the Eastern Army joined to reinforce the rescue efforts. With the support of the military, a group of victims was successfully rescued in the rural community of Rey-2, after clearing a section of the San Germán–Holguín road, which connects access to the other towns that still lack passable routes.
The emergency operations have been aimed at ensuring the safety of the residents, maintaining communication with isolated communities and opening safe routes to evacuate those who are at greater risk.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba at 3:10 AM on Wednesday as a Category 3 cyclone, with sustained winds of 195 km/h and heavy rains that severely impacted the eastern part of the country.
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