Diaz-Canel coordinates quick response to tornado effects in Havana

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez met Tuesday night to continue assessing the damage caused by the tornado that hit Havana on Sunday and to coordinate the country’s efforts to give a quick response.

It is necessary to shorten recovery period and to be very sensitive in the treatment of the people affected, said the president. Everything we rebuild, he said, has to be better, stronger and more beautiful than before.

According to Divisional General Ramón Pardo Guerra, Chief of the National Civil Defense Staff, the number of deaths due to the meteorological event remains at four. There are reports of 1,286 houses damaged, out of which 1,238 have already been visited. Total collapses are quantified to be 123 and partial ones to be 625.

The tornado also caused 112 manufactured gas leaks in the municipality of Diez de Octubre, which have already been solved.

Reynaldo Garcia Zapata, President of the Government in Havana, reported that 14 offices have been opened for the sale of construction materials, which will begin to be made available to the victims from this Wednesday, basically roof and window modules.

He confirmed that on Friday the municipalities of Guanabacoa and Regla should be completely cleared of debris; while Diez de Octubre, considered the most affected, will be ready for the weekend. For this purpose, work has been reinforced with brigades from the other territories of Havana and others from the provinces of Mayabeque, Artemisa, Matanzas, Pinar del Río and Cienfuegos. He also specified that young university students and members of the Hermanos Saíz Association have joined these tasks.

He recognized the protagonism that the troops of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior in these tasks since the very beginning.

Diaz-Canel pointed out that at the same time as the cleaning, the fallen trees must be replanted with trees that restore the greenery and their roots do not damage the sidewalks.

Later, the Minister of Public Health, José Angel Portal Miranda, said that out of the people injured as a result of the weather event, 74 remained in the hospital, 12 of them in serious condition. With respect to the 196 patients evacuated from the Hospital Materno Hijas de Galicia (Daughters of Galicia Maternity Hospital), on Tuesday afternoon there were 24 patients who had been discharged.

Regarding the polyclinic in the municipality of Regla, Portal Miranda assured that the problem with the water supply had already been solved and health services had begun to be provided. In addition, the medical supplies in this institution were reinforced and two ambulances were located for the evacuation of cases requiring it. ·”So far, there is no epidemiological situation,” he pointed out.

Antonio Rodriguez Rodriguez, president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, commented that 873 damaged tanks are reported and more than a thousand are available for the population.

Meanwhile, works continue to restore electricity as soon as possible to the more than 144,000 customers who remain powerless, said Raul Garcia Barreiro, Minister of Energy and Mines. About 83% of the damage has already been solved, he said.

Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, Minister of Communication reported that among the alternative measures adopted to facilitate communications, 31 public telephones were installed, from which people can make free calls of up to three minutes in length. He stressed that after further clarifications is confirmed that the number of affectations amounts to more than 16 thousand telephone services.

The Minister of the Food Industry, Iris Quiñones Rojas, confirmed that it has been possible to continue the stable supply of flour to the bakeries; in addition it will begin to distribute canned fish.

Despite the fact that 11 stores were affected, the sale of the standard family food basket began without difficulties, said the Minister of Domestic Trade, Betsy Díaz Velázquez. As an extraordinary action she reported that this Tuesday price violation was discovered in one of the products sold in the shops set up for selling food to the population in areas damaged by the tornado. Those responsible for the infraction were arrested and will be subject to penalties, he said.

The Minister of Agriculture, Gustavo Rodriguez Rollero, said that the sale of egg is maintained in the affected municipalities and from Friday potatoes will begin to be distributed.

The Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, noted that international organizations such as the World Food Program, the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund have offered donations of rice, beans, roof tarp, water tanks and educational and recreational materials for children, all products that are deposited in the national territory.

Regarding offers of help, both from countries and individuals, he said that the country has established a mechanism for this purpose and they should be coordinated through MINCEX.

Eduardo Rodriguez Davila, Minister of Transportation, said that all services have been gradually restored and work is underway on the recovery of automotive means that suffered breakdowns as the tornado passed. Likewise,” he affirmed, “the transportation of the personnel who participate in the city’s sanitation work is organized.

The Minister of Economy and Planning, Alejandro Gil Fernandez, reiterated that the country is able to support the recovery and it has resources such as tiles, wood and steel, which in the coming hours will begin to be distributed to the population.

The secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party, Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar, acknowledged the popular participation in the tasks of sanitation and collection of debris from the early hours of Monday.

(Taken from Granma in Spanish)