Posted on Fri, Sep. 12, 2008
The Cuban government admitted that the country's reserves are not enough
to surmount the devastation caused by hurricanes Ike and Gustav, as it
continued the struggle to assess damages and set up a triage system to
deliver aid.
"It is impossible to solve the magnitude of the catastrophe with the
resources available," Carlos Lezcano, director of the National Institute
of State Reserves (INRE) said Friday on Cuban television.
"The reserve is being tested. We will have to prioritize," he added.
In addition, Cuban television reported that President Raul Castro told
Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohanka in a telephone conversation that
"never in the history of Cuba had we had a case like this one."
Aid delivery is focusing on the neediest areas as rain continues to fall
on the island and hampers delivery efforts.
In Pinar del Rio province, the river Cuyahuateje has overflowed its
banks and left entire communities, such as the town of Guane, underwater
and inaccessible by road. It also flooded crops and tobacco warehouses.
In the community of Sierra Maestra, Gustav knocked over a giant carob
tree that had stood for more than 100 years.
In Los Palacios, the main town in the municipality of the same name,
with a population of some 14,000, only 23 homes were not damaged.
Supplies have already been delivered there, according to Cuban television.
Also in Los Palacios, the agri-industrial complex that provides rice for
the entire province was severely affected. Some 500 tons of rice, out of
a total of 1,900, were soaked through when the roof blew off the silos
where they were stored.
In Holguin province, more than 100,000 buildings are affected and only
30 percent of the electric service has been restored, although
telephones are functional. There is fear of flooding in the province as
well, as reservoirs near 96 percent capacity.
The Cuban government hopes to start the school year on Sept. 15 where
possible and is debating the possibility of moving students who attend
schools that have been destroyed by the storm.
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