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The United Nations Organization (UN) began an assessment of the damage in eastern Cuba this Sunday following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which caused severe damage in the province of Holguín and nearby municipalities.
Medical supplies sent by UNICEF Cuba arrived in Havana on Saturday and have already been transferred to a hospital in Holguín to support healthcare in the most affected areas.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba, Francisco J. Pichon, highlighted the joint efforts of the United Nations system agencies in the humanitarian response before and after the hurricane's passage.
The UN had announced an action plan aimed at raising $74.2 million to assist one million people affected by Hurricane Melissa in the eastern region of the island, where the storm caused severe damage to homes, infrastructure, basic services, and crops.
In the report published by ReliefWeb, the UN humanitarian platform, the international body described Hurricane Melissa as "one of the most intense hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico."
In that announcement, the entity emphasized that the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, and Guantánamo were among the most affected, with 2.2 million people severely impacted.
Moreover, 75% of mobile phone services and up to 90% of telecommunications antennas went out of service, resulting in the isolation of hundreds of rural communities.
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