|
Raúl in Santiago de Cuba
Also makes brief visit to Ciego de
Avila
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz arrived in Santiago de
Cuba at midday October 28 and went immediately to
the Provincial Defense Council command post for
disaster situations. There, Reinaldo García Zapata,
its president, gave him an up-to-date report on the
current situation in the province and the response
to consequences of Hurricane Sandy.
 Also
present were First Vice President José Ramón Machado
Ventura; Adel Yzquierdo Rodríguez, Vice President of
the Council of Ministers and Minister of Economy and
Planning; and Army Corps Generals Ramón Espinosa
Martín and Joaquín Quintas Solá, both deputy
ministers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).
Hurricane Sandy caused the most damage in the
municipalities of Santiago de Cuba, Songo La Maya,
Palma Soriano and San Luis, with houses, economic
activities, basic public services and educational,
health and cultural institutions badly affected.
Lázaro Expósito, first secretary of the Communist
Party in Santiago de Cuba, noted the solidarity
received from other Cuban provinces and which is
beginning to arrive from Venezuela, as well as the
constant presence of the National Defense Council
and different central state administration bodies in
ongoing efforts to restore the damage.
The
Cuban President reflected on the most difficult
challenge: the 130,000-plus homes affected, in
particular the 15,392 totally demolished and 36,544
partially demolished ones, data still to be
confirmed. He stated the need to work urgently on
temporary solutions, with rigorous damage control
and at the same time to continue studies on how to
address this problem in the longer term, as the
definitive solution will require years of work. He
commented that the community of petrocasas
(houses constructed from oil derivatives such as
PVC) in the city of Santiago de Cuba were left
virtually intact, confirming their solidity.
He
supported the correct decision to give maximum
priority to restoring basic services as quickly as
possible, especially electricity and water, while
emphasizing the importance of informing, orientating
and maintaining constant contact with the
population.
Intensive work is underway to clear the province of
considerable volumes of rubble and uprooted trees
which, in addition to the negative psychological
effect on people, are obstructing the road network
and thus recovery efforts. Participation by FAR
troops, engineering and transport vehicles has been
decisive in this effort.
VISIT TO CIEGO DE AVILA
Prior to traveling to Santiago de Cuba, Raúl met
with Félix Duarte Ortega and Noemí Iglesias Falcón,
president and vice president of the Ciego de Avila
Provincial Defense Council, who informed him that
the heavy rains associated with Sandy were of
benefit to the province, as damage is moderate and
reservoirs have accumulated 96% of their total
capacity.
“This readiness of the people of Ciego de Avila and
all Cubans to help their compatriots in the east of
the country with the human and material resources
needed is impressive,” Raúl commented, and asked
about the dispatch of agricultural produce and
pre-prepared foods.
|
