The intense rains from Hurricane Melissa caused severe flooding in communities in the province of Holguín, leaving families with nothing.
In the Estrada community of the Urbano Noris municipality, the residents are still in shock. “It was a sudden flood, at just past six in the morning, that no one expected, and it was the most terrible thing; it reached up to my chest,” Maité Expósito said in statements to Canal Caribe of the Cuban Television Information System.
The floodwaters inundated homes, destroyed belongings, and swept away what little the residents had. “In less than 20 minutes, everything here was filled with water, up to the height of the ceiling,” recounted Maida Durán to the same state media, while showing the water marks on the walls of her house.
Other families didn't even have time to protect the essentials. Arelis Reyes explained through tears that her husband stayed in the house trying to save their belongings until the water reached his chest. “The mattress, the cold, everything upside down, all floating in water… there was nothing more that could be done,” she said.
In the midst of the disaster, the Mártires del 9 de Octubre primary school became the main shelter in the area. Its principal, Danilo Almaguer, stated in an interview with Canal Caribe that all those affected were accommodated there and food was prepared for those who lost their homes. “It was a moment of tension because the rain was heavy and people were desperate, but calm and assistance were always maintained,” he explained.
Local authorities, led by Joel Keipo Ruiz and Manuel Hernández Aguilera, president and vice president of the Provincial Defense Council, visited the site and assessed the damage. However, the situation remains critical: underground water sources are contaminated, and the lack of drinking water has become a new problem for residents.
A few kilometers away, in the community of Yaguabo, municipality of Cacocum, the activist Norge Ernesto Díaz Blak (Noly Black) documented similar scenes in a video shared on social media, showing heart-wrenching images of families who lost everything after the flooding.
"This is what I have," said a woman as she showed an empty backpack. Along her journey, Noly collected testimonies from neighbors who reported being forcibly evacuated by the police, unable to save their belongings. "There was nothing left, even my food went bad," lamented a resident in tears.
According to the activist, more than 600 homes were destroyed or severely affected in Cacocum after the passage of Melissa, and many people are still not receiving official assistance.
The tragedy has sparked a wave of solidarity both inside and outside of Cuba. From Miami, groups of Cubans are organizing donation campaigns to assist the affected families, while on the island, the neighbors themselves are trying to dry their belongings in the sun and share what little they have left.
In a country engulfed in a structural crisis, where replacing a mattress or a refrigerator can feel like an odyssey, recovery seems like an impossible task. Without materials, without potable water, and without effective institutional support, the residents of Holguín once again face the reality of being left adrift after a natural disaster.
“There are things that water washes away, but others hurt more: memories, the efforts of a lifetime,” commented a neighbor, as she watched the mud covering what was once her home.
Hurricane Melissa left a trail of destruction and despair. In Holguín, thousands of people cling to the hope of rebuilding their homes with solidarity assistance, in the face of the state's passivity and the lack of official resources.
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