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The neighborhood of Jarahueca, in the municipality of Songo-La Maya, is engulfed in devastation following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
According to images shared by the official journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso on his social media, the rising river that runs through that locality swept away 17 homes and caused the total loss of material possessions for many other families.
The images published by Alonso reveal a dire situation: collapsed or partially collapsed houses, flooded streets, piles of rubble where homes once stood, and communities still cut off due to the collapse of the bridge that connected Jarahueca with the rest of the municipality.
The tragedy of Jarahueca is not an isolated incident. Throughout the eastern region of Cuba, similar scenes of destruction and abandonment can be observed in Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguín, Guantánamo, and Las Tunas, where thousands of families remain without electricity, with impassable roads and communities still submerged or covered in mud.
In places like Río Cauto, El Cobre, Palma Soriano, and Moa, the floods have destroyed entire homes, devastating crops and leaving the population without access to food, medicine, or adequate shelter.
The testimonials circulating on social media depict a landscape of desperation and helplessness. Families who have lost everything are improvising shelters with tarps or remnants of roofs, while others assert that state aid has not arrived or has been insufficient and delayed.
In the midst of the collapse, the humanitarian response has primarily come from civil society, churches, community groups, and Cubans in exile, who have taken on the mission of assisting those affected.
The hurricane Melissa not only left a trail of material destruction but also exposed, once again, the deep structural vulnerability and institutional neglect suffered by the eastern provinces of Cuba.
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