A week after the devastating passage of hurricane Melissa through eastern Cuba, the government maintains its stance that there are no fatalities or missing persons.
During a visit on Tuesday to the province of Granma, Miguel Díaz-Canel toured the municipality of Río Cauto, one of the areas most affected by the floods, and listened to local officials assure him that "no fatalities or missing persons have been reported."
In rural communities like Camilo Cienfuegos, where more than 1,000 people were evacuated emergency during the night, the waters of the Cauto River swept away homes, crops, and roads.
Many had to take refuge on the roofs of their houses, in trees, or even on the rooftop of a warehouse, while the authorities delayed in providing assistance.
"After the event, more than a thousand people were rescued from incredible places, in trees, on roofs, at the top of a warehouse. We truly did not expect this," said a leader, though she did not provide further details.
Late evacuations and lack of coordination
Local residents claim that the neighborhood alerts were ignored by municipal authorities, who insisted that "it was not necessary to evacuate yet."
When the evacuation order was finally given, many families were already surrounded by water, without sufficient transportation or logistical support.
On Sunday, a video recorded from a helicopter and shared in the Facebook group Revolico Río Cauto displayed a devastated landscape, with only the roofs of the houses visible, while the rest of the town was submerged in water.
The Cauto del Paso dam, the largest hydraulic infrastructure in Granma, discharged more than one billion cubic meters of water, three times its capacity.
During the peak discharge period, the runoff—combined with natural drainage and heavy rainfall associated with Hurricane Melissa—caused extensive flooding in communities of the municipality of Río Cauto, where many homes were inundated or destroyed.
Local authorities activated emergency operations and evacuations to protect residents of the most affected settlements, amid a situation that caused the dam to operate near its maximum capacity.
Official silence in the face of confirmed deaths
Although Díaz-Canel repeated throughout his tour that "there are no fatalities," there are already verified reports of at least two victims in the eastern region following the hurricane's passage.
One of them is Roberto Rodríguez Munder, 56 years old, a resident of Palma Soriano, who was swept away by the current of a river while trying to cross it during the rains.
His body was found the next day by his neighbors, as confirmed by family members and international media.
The Catholic Church in Santiago de Cuba also reported another fatality in El Cobre, an elderly man who died during the storm.
Despite these confirmations, the regime has not officially acknowledged any deaths, adhering to its usual policy of silence and minimization in the face of natural disasters.
"If there were any deceased, they would be informed with absolute honesty," said Díaz-Canel days ago, while describing the citizens' complaints as "disinformation campaigns."
Devastated and resource-strapped communities
Beyond the official figures, the material losses are enormous.
In Río Cauto, Guamo, and Grito de Yara, hundreds of homes were submerged, and most families have lost everything: mattresses, furniture, appliances, clothing, and food.
Without an insurance system, without savings, and with state salaries that barely suffice for survival, replacing the destroyed goods is an impossible task for most.
The aid promised by the State, when it arrives, is often limited to minimal donations or construction materials with prices that are unattainable.
A crisis that the government cannot control
The aftermath of Hurricane Melissa highlights the country's extreme vulnerability to natural phenomena. The lack of maintenance on dams, inadequate infrastructure, and institutional disorganization exacerbate the impact of rainfall each year.
Meanwhile, Cubans are facing disaster without transportation, without electricity, without food, and without trust in a government that responds more with propaganda than with solutions.
In a country where censorship weighs more than the truth, Cubans continue to inform themselves through the testimonies that circulate on Facebook and WhatsApp.
Images of families trapped on rooftops or seeking shelter among the mud are multiplying, while the official press repeats that "no one will be left unprotected."
But the reality in Río Cauto – as in much of eastern Cuba – tells a different story: the water will recede, but the neglect remains.
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