More than two weeks after a building at the corner of Campanario and Neptuno in Central Havana experienced another internal collapse, several families remain without official relocation and are taking refuge on the ground floor of the same building, according to Martí Noticias.
The firefighters prohibited reentry to the apartments after detecting an imminent risk of total collapse.
"About a month ago, two floors collapsed inside, and many people were evacuated, but some remained in their homes. And now, around 15 days ago, another collapse happened inside, and the remaining ceilings are very fragile," a resident told the media.
In the absence of a housing solution, those affected spent several days on the streets before being moved to the ground floor of the building when the rains began.
"There are quite a few left; they were first on the street and now they have been placed underneath the building because it has rained and all. And there was also a truck that picked up some furniture to store it in some warehouse so it doesn't get damaged," the same source added.
The authorities offered a temporary alternative of an old store on Neptuno Street itself, but the affected individuals rejected it due to its poor condition.
"In a store right here in Neptuno, which has about two or three floors, but it didn’t suit them, I don’t know why, maybe because it's in very bad condition," said the neighbor.
Among those affected are the elderly, children, and entire families. The elderly were moved to nursing homes, and the minors to relatives' houses, while the majority of the residents continue to wait for a permanent relocation.
The case of Campanario and Neptuno is not the only one in the capital without an institutional response. On Ánimas Street 714, another partially collapsed building has been in the same situation for over a month.
Antonio Font, owner of an apartment in that building, reported that he had turned to the municipal government, the Housing Department, and the neighborhood delegate without receiving any concrete measures.
"It's been about two months now and the authorities haven't provided any response whatsoever, the municipal government to the housing of the municipality, and the delegate already knows, but no one is taking any action or anything," Font stated.
Those displaced by landslides in Cuba essentially face two options: seek refuge with family members or be sent to state-run shelters, which in many cases are converted public offices where overcrowding, electrical issues, and unsanitary conditions have been reported.
The drama is part of a structural housing crisis that worsens each year. The national housing deficit exceeded 929,000 units in 2026, according to official figures, and in Havana, about 1,000 buildings collapse each year.
The state's response has historically been insufficient: in the first half of 2025, the regime had only completed 2,382 homes out of an official plan of 10,795, achieving a completion rate of 22%.
As the deficit grows and buildings collapse, entire families like those in Campanario and Neptuno continue to wait, exposed to the elements, for someone in the government to take action.
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