Havana, November 9 (RHC)-- President Miguel Díaz-Canel praised this Saturday the participation of Cubans in the reconstruction of homes, infrastructure and services damaged after hurricanes Rafael and Oscar passed through the island.
The president described as “collective heroism” the attitude of women and men who continue to face adversity without giving themselves a break. “I saw them in Guantánamo (Oriente, after cyclone Oscar) and now I meet them again in Havana, Mayabeque and Artemisa, giving everything to lift the country up,” he wrote.
The head of state urged the day before to work in an organized and effective way to quickly return to normality in the western territories affected by Hurricane Rafael, which hit the Caribbean island with a category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Díaz-Canel confirmed in Mayabeque and Artemisa the “work hurricane” deployed after the passage of the meteorological phenomenon that left considerable material losses in both territories.
The Cuban president also thanked the collaboration of the inhabitants in the evacuation process carried out in that coastal area, where it was necessary to protect more than 2,900 people, due to the danger of flooding.
He also recognized the operation deployed by members of the Red Cross “who, in the middle of the hurricane, rescued people trapped in a landslide and put them in a safe place.”
After the passage of both cyclones through the Caribbean nation, contingents of linemen and other specialists from the electrical sector were deployed from Camagüey, Holguín, Las Tunas and Granma, in order to support the recovery efforts in all the affected territories.
In just 15 days, Cuba was affected by Hurricane Oscar, which made landfall at 5:50 a.m. local time on October 21 near Baracoa, Guantánamo province, with winds of approximately 130 km/h, according to reports from the Cuban Institute of Meteorology.
Rafael, on the other hand, hit western Cuba on November 5 with winds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour, which caused damage in the provinces of Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana, mainly to agriculture, housing, hospital infrastructure and the electrical system.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
