Río Cauto, Granma.–"We all have to contribute to the effort that is being made, knowing that everything cannot be resolved at once, due to the limitations that exist and because there is damage that will take time to recover," explained the President of the National Defense Council (CDN), Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, to the inhabitants of Río Cauto.
"We all have to work and defend Cuba," emphasized the First Secretary of the Party's Central Committee and President of the Republic, who spent much of Tuesday visiting the two areas of the country that remain under a cyclone warning, Cauto Cristo and Río Cauto, where he spoke with dozens and dozens of residents along the way.
The Head of State gave special recognition to the FARs and Minint forces for their exemplary work in rescuing and saving people who were trapped during the floods caused by the rains brought by Melissa, mainly in the Cauto plains.
Díaz-Canel was accompanied by Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, and ministers and deputy ministers from various portfolios, along with Yudelkis Ortíz Barceló, first secretary of the provincial committee of the Party in Granma, and Governor Yanetsy Terry Gutiérrez.
At the end of the tour, in a meeting with members of the Provincial Defense Council, the Municipal Defense Council of Río Cauto, and defense zones, the President of the National Defense Council conveyed a series of instructions for the swiftest possible recovery of the areas affected by the hurricane.
However, he noted that in order to return to normal, it is necessary for the people to participate, regardless of the work carried out by specialized brigades from other provinces and local entities.
To this end, Díaz-Canel reflected, it is necessary to work quickly at all levels and keep people well informed, with mass organizations playing a fundamental role. It is therefore necessary to convene and mobilize, especially at the community level, to promote an atmosphere of solidarity and work; an environment conducive to dealing with the situation more coherently and, above all, with personalized attention to the most vulnerable, those who require the most care and attention.
Based on all the efforts made by the province and the way in which work has been carried out here, we can be in a totally different situation in terms of recovery by the end of this week and next week, the Cuban president told the participants at the meeting.
He recalled that Granma is now six days after the hurricane, and there are places that are still flooded, which have not been accessible, nor has it been possible to determine the extent of the damage. At this point, the head of state, who in places such as the Camilo Cienfuegos neighborhood in Cauto Embarcadero heard the dissatisfaction of the population and requests to contribute to the recovery of the neighborhood, called on everyone to always put themselves in the other person's shoes.
There are many people here who have lost almost everything, so they are stressed, upset, worried, and perhaps even feel a little insecure, and those people need to be cared for and given confidence, he reflected.
A TOUGH BUT ENCOURAGING WEEK
Almost a week after Hurricane Melissa devastated the east of the country, the President of the National Defense Council began a new tour of the region in the community of El Recreo, on the border between Granma and Holguín.
The nearly 100 homes in the settlement, including the neighborhood school and other social buildings, remain flooded, and its 234 residents are sheltered in evacuation centers and in the homes of family and friends.
A group of neighbors who take turns caring for the neighborhood and the belongings of the families who live here, along with the district delegate and other local leaders, welcomed Díaz-Canel at the side of the Bayamo-Holguín highway.
They explained to him the heavy losses in agriculture, particularly in the pepper and tomato plantations, which are part of the local tradition at this time of year. There is extensive damage to squash, sweet potatoes, corn, and other crops.
The residents told the president that they had never experienced anything like this before. Díaz-Canel asked about the protection of local families and the damage to homes and schools, and called for maximum attention to be paid to the safety of the water and food they are now consuming, and when people return to their homes. But, he told them, we have no choice but to get back on our feet.
The president then arrived at the San Marcos settlement in the Hatillo district, also in the municipality of Cauto Cristo, where the Carlos Bastidas Azcuy cooperative has a significant portion of its land and other infrastructure. With 924 hectares of land dedicated to various crops, the floods caused the loss of more than 70% of the cooperative's bananas, a large part of its sweet potatoes, and all of its cassava.
The damage to a road connecting the community with the farming areas was particularly severe.
The residents spoke to the president about the evacuation in Hatillo due to the flooding of the Cauto River. In the most difficult moments, they said, solidarity prevailed.
Díaz-Canel discussed with the authorities from the Institute of Hydraulic Resources and the Ministry of Construction who accompanied him the solution that should be found to the lack of access to the cooperative's areas, one of the best in the province.
This is the productive hub of Cauto Cristo, and we have to support them, Díaz-Canel asserted. And to the residents of San Marco, he said: "You are hard-working people and you will recover, but you will also be helped."
Later in the morning, Díaz-Canel went to Río Cauto, the epicenter of recovery efforts in Granma, although this municipality, like Cauto Cristo, is still under a hurricane warning and thousands of locals have not been able to return to their homes because they are still flooded, many severely.
The President of the National Defense Council first arrived at the Cauto del Paso dam, the largest hydraulic infrastructure in the province, also known as the key to the Cauto, which has been undergoing maintenance for some time.
After the hurricane passed, the dam released more than one billion cubic meters of water, triple its capacity, preventing the flooding caused by the storm from becoming even worse and thus playing a key role in protecting human life.
In the Camilo Cienfuegos community, in the town of Cauto Embarcadero, one of the places hardest hit by the flooding caused by Melissa, Díaz-Canel spoke with residents about the difficult hours they experienced after the impact of one of the most intense weather events ever to hit the largest of the Antilles.
The president insisted on the need to update disaster response plans because, without a doubt, the magnitude of this hurricane exceeded anything previously experienced in the region.
AT THE EPICENTER OF THE RECOVERY
During the exchange with members of the defense councils, the first secretary of the provincial committee of the Party in Granma, Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló, provided an update on the damage left by Melissa and the recovery efforts.
She highlighted the most significant damage to housing, the electrical grid and telecommunications, agriculture, and the water system.
The municipalities most affected by strong winds were Bartolomé Masó, Buey Arriba, Guisa, and Bayamo. Río Cauto, Cauto Cristo, Yara, Bayamo, and Buey Arriba were most affected by heavy rains and flooding.
Ortiz Barceló reported that the most complex situation is currently in Río Cauto due to flooding, and strict surveillance is being maintained on the province's 11 reservoirs, which are at 87% of their total capacity. Six reservoirs are overflowing, and the three reservoirs in neighboring provinces that feed into the Cauto basin are being monitored continuously.
He referred to communication efforts and emphasized the work being done and the unity, solidarity, and cooperation in a phase he described as "the most challenging, but also the most uplifting."
GRANMA IN THE FACE OF MELISSA
• People still under protection: 75,028. 115,313 people have returned to their homes. In Las Tunas, there are seven protection centers, with 2,000 people in shelters and family homes.
• Of a housing stock of 286,664 homes in the province, 8,491 have been reported as damaged, according to preliminary figures; 4,271 have been visited and 2,384 are reported to have been affected; 1,338 families already have forms from the processing offices.
• There have been 50 landslides, affecting more than 5,500 people in 29 communities. Work is underway to reestablish communication with these settlements.
• Damage of varying degrees has been reported to facilities and institutions in the health, education, and other social sectors.
48,374 customers are without landline telephone service due to damage to the electricity grid. Mobile phone service has been restored.
• Preliminary losses of various crops amount to 7,571.75 hectares. Coffee losses amount to 830 hectares, equivalent to about 30,000 cans. There were losses of 1,244 hectares of cassava, 632 hectares of plantains, 300 hectares of beans, 1,227 hectares of rice, much of it ready for harvest, 3,285 hectares of corn, and 302 hectares of squash, among other crops. Livestock losses so far total 16,200 head.
