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More than a thousand residents of Guamo, in the province of Granma, were urgently evacuated early Friday morning to the municipality of Jobabo, in Las Tunas, due to the imminent risk of flooding from the Cauto River, following heavy rains associated with the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which struck Cuba on October 28.
"The evacuation is being carried out urgently, and the transfer of families to the 'Manifiesto de Montecristi' Polytechnic is being coordinated, where the necessary logistical conditions for their shelter are guaranteed. It is expected that more people will continue to arrive throughout the day, with between 5,000 to 7,000 evacuees," reported .
detailed that approximately 1,300 people were initially transported by train to the evacuation center at the IPA Manifiesto in Montecristi, in Jobabo, where they receive care and accommodations.
Local authorities coordinated the transfer and the necessary logistical conditions for the evacuees. They reiterated that more residents from Guamo are expected to arrive in the coming hours.
The evacuation was "unexpected," carried out in the early morning under an urgent notice when the rising river began to threaten the nearby dam.
"The response was swift. An immediate deployment of vehicles, workers, and managers ensured the safety of the families," he wrote on his . He explained that in light of the emergency, local authorities took part of the bread intended for the municipality's population to provide breakfast for the more than a thousand evacuees.
"Solidarity prevails," Rodríguez stated, assuring that the supply to the residents of Jobabo would be replenished later that afternoon or the following morning.
The rising water levels have put several communities near the Cauto on high alert.
The user Day Puty Figueredo Pino and neighbors from the Grito de Yara area, also in Granma, reported flooded homes and streets completely covered with water.
"The water is already inside the houses... we are without communication and without sleep," a resident reported on social media.
The situation was exacerbated by the continuing rainfall that began with the passage of Hurricane Melissa, whose bands of rain caused the reservoirs to become saturated and several rivers in the eastern part of the country to overflow.
Testimonies from family members in the town of Cauto de Paso also alerted to people trapped in flooded areas and difficulties in establishing contact with rescue teams.
"They are on top of the village warehouse; they were supposed to go pick them up, and until now no one has shown up," wrote a user in a .
Local media such as also confirmed the evacuation of hundreds of residents from Guamo to Jobabo, noting that the Municipal Defense Council is working on accommodating more displaced individuals, with support from territorial structures.
The authorities have not reported any casualties so far, but the situation in Granma and Las Tunas remains an emergency due to the high risk of major flooding in the Cauto River basin, the longest river in Cuba.
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