Two partial collapses recorded in less than 24 hours in Old Havana have once again highlighted the severity of the housing crisis affecting thousands of families in the Cuban capital.
The incidents, which took place on Muralla and Teniente Rey streets, left no victims for several minutes, but they did directly endanger several homes and those who reside in them.
According to a report from CubaNet, the first collapse occurred on Monday night in a building located at Aguiar, corner of Muralla. There, part of a bathroom from one of the residences fell down.
According to neighbors of the building, a young woman who lives there with her daughter had decided to spend the night at a friend's house due to the rain and the fear that the structure might give way, a decision that kept both of them out at the time of the collapse.
This building was not a surprise for the residents or the authorities. For years, it has been noted for its advanced deterioration: deep cracks, leaks, partial detachments, and makeshift supports were all part of the everyday landscape.
Families have been raising alarms about the danger posed by the building, especially during the rainy season, without receiving an effective response from the housing institutions.
The second incident occurred the following morning, around 6:00 am, on Teniente Rey Street, between Aguacate and Villegas.
In that case, the roof overhang of a building completely collapsed, putting at direct risk at least six apartments.
Although firefighters arrived at the scene, residents pointed out the absence of local government officials or Housing authorities to assess the situation and provide solutions.
These new events add to a series of collapses that in recent years have resulted in deaths, injuries, and dozens of families left homeless in Havana.
Old Havana encompasses one of the country's most critical situations: centuries-old buildings, lacking proper maintenance and bearing years of accumulated deterioration, where thousands of people live in conditions of permanent risk.
The inhabitants who survive today among cracks, propped-up roofs, and walls on the verge of collapsing do not do so by choice.
The lack of real alternatives, the chronic shortage of building materials, and the absence of effective rehabilitation programs force them to remain in properties they know are dangerous.
An old problem, never resolved
The building at Muralla 212 is a symbol of that prolonged neglect.
Since at least 2018, their neighbors have reported sinking floors, peeling walls, lack of running water, infestations of rats and mosquitoes, and the authorities' refusal to provide decent housing solutions.
The official proposals were limited to makeshift shelters on the outskirts of the city, spaces that families rejected for not meeting the minimum conditions for stable living.
At that time, residents recounted that they had been waiting for years for a real solution while watching how new buildings for other purposes were constructed in their own municipality, without prioritizing those living in ruin within the historic center.
Today, eight years later, history repeats itself with new collapses, new alerts, and the same lack of structural responses.
The collapses of Muralla and Teniente Rey are not isolated incidents, but rather the visible expression of a deep and prolonged crisis.
In Old Havana, every collapse serves as a reminder that thousands of families continue to live on the edge of tragedy, not due to a lack of will, but because of a lack of options in a country where safe housing remains an unfulfilled promise.
The housing crisis in Cuba is a direct responsibility of the State, which for decades has failed to provide safe housing or dignified solutions for those living in crumbling buildings.
While the construction of hotels progresses relentlessly, entire neighborhoods in the historic center continue to fall apart.
The city has a long history of deadly collapses and delayed evacuations, and each new disaster reinforces the feeling of helplessness among those who, night after night, go to bed fearing they may not wake up alive under the same roof
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