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The Nation Civil Defense General Staff reported this Friday that the municipalities of Río Cauto and Cauto Cristo, in the province of Granma, will remain in cyclonic alarm phase due to the complex hydrological situation caused by the heavy rains and flooding following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
The measure was announced in the Information Note No. 7 issued at 10:00 a.m. by the Presidency of Cuba, which also established the recovery phase for the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma, although it cautioned that in the mentioned municipalities the situation remains “critical and dangerous”.
"In the case of Granma province, the municipalities of Río Cauto and Cauto Cristo will remain in the CYCLONIC ALERT PHASE, where there is still a complex hydrological situation and efforts to protect the population continue," the official statement indicates.
The municipality of Río Cauto is among the most affected by the heavy rains caused by Hurricane Melissa as it passed through eastern Cuba.
Numerous urban and rural areas remain underwater, with reports of flooded homes, destroyed crops, and disrupted access roads.
The situation is critical to the extent that in the early hours of the morning, over a thousand residents of Guamo, in Granma, were urgently evacuated to the municipality of Jobabo, in Las Tunas, due to the imminent risk of flooding from the rising Cauto River.
“The levels of the Cauto River have continued to rise due to the overflow of its tributaries and the collapse of drainage in several low-lying areas of the territory,” explained a source from the provincial Civil Defense.
"The preventive evacuation of at-risk families is ongoing, especially in areas near the Paso Malo reservoir and in the multifamily buildings in the urban center."
Meanwhile, in the municipality of Cauto Cristo, authorities report communities completely cut off and significant damage to roads, bridges, and electrical systems. Rescue teams are using boats and heavy machinery to transport food, drinking water, and medicines to the most affected areas.
The Civil Defense reported that the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma have officially begun the recovery phase, after Hurricane Melissa left Cuban territory following severe flooding, landslides, and agricultural losses.
In this phase, the Territorial Defense Councils focus on the rehabilitation of basic services, debris removal, housing repairs, and assessment of damages to road and energy infrastructure.
However, the municipalities along the Cauto River will remain under strict surveillance due to the high water level and the ongoing rainfall in the eastern region.
The province of Granma has been one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa. Images shared on social media by residents, such as Melissa Poello, show residential buildings partially submerged and streets turned into genuine rivers. "The water keeps rising, the houses are flooded up to the roof," the user wrote on Facebook.
The Civil Defense acknowledged the work of local management bodies, the media, and the population "for the discipline and solidarity shown during the preparations and response to the weather event."
The hurricane Melissa, which struck Cuba as a Category 3 cyclone, has left a deep mark in the eastern part of the country, with thousands of affected individuals, extensive agricultural areas submerged, and severe damage to key infrastructures.
Authorities have warned that the recovery process will be lengthy and will depend on stabilizing the weather in the coming days.
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