Despite the fact that the Civil Defense of Cuba announced this Monday the recovery phase for the municipalities of Río Cauto and Cauto Cristo in Granma, the reality in much of eastern Cuba continues to be marked by the devastation left by Hurricane Melissa, a phenomenon that affected more than 3.5 million people according to the United Nations.
The official report, read on the Canal Caribe as “informative note number 8” from the National Civil Defense Headquarters, announced the return to normalcy in provinces like Las Tunas and several municipalities in Granma, Guantánamo, and Holguín.
However, other areas affected by the cyclone will remain in a recovery phase under the direction of their defense councils, a process that, on the ground, faces deep shortages.
In rural communities of Granma and Guantánamo, families continue to live amidst the rubble of destroyed homes and roofs torn off by winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour.
The UN warned that the impact of Melissa has been “huge”, with more than 90,000 homes damaged, 100,000 hectares of crops destroyed, and severe damage to hospitals, schools, roads, and power lines.
Almost two weeks after the hurricane, nearly a third of customers in the affected provinces are still without electricity. In many towns, the return to "normalcy" is just a television announcement.
“We have lost everything and we still do not know when we will be able to rebuild the house,” a neighbor from Media Luna told local media.
While the Cuban government acknowledges the discipline and efforts of the authorities and official media during the event, the situation in the east remains that of an exhausted population trying to rebuild their lives amidst shortages of food, medicine, and fuel.
The UN launched an Emergency Action Plan valued at $74.2 million to assist one million people severely affected. However, for many in eastern Cuba, true recovery still seems like a distant horizon.
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