Thousands of Cubans struggle without power, water nearly a month after Hurricane Melissa

Thousands of Cubans remain without power, water or proper shelter almost a month after Hurricane Melissa pummelled the island’s eastern region as one of the strongest Atlantic storms in history. By day, families walk toward the nearest river to fill plastic containers with water and by night, they squeeze together to sleep under temporary shelters and tents. “We lost everything in the flood,” 80-year-old Lucía García said. “I am very depressed and very sad.”

García is living in a small classroom with her two sons, ages 45 and 55, and her ailing 81-year-old husband, who remains bedridden. The school where they’re staying in the town of Río Cauto serves as a shelter for 14 families and is providing daily meals to them and 25 other families living with relatives and neighbours. Water delivery trucks pass by every three or four days.

Many of the town’s residents lived by the river and lost their homes after Melissa cut through eastern Cuba, forcing nearby dams to release huge amounts of water.More than 2,300 people were evacuated from the Río Cauto area, with more than 750 staying in private homes, according to a November 10 report published in the official newspaper, Granma. It claimed that the return of residents to their homes “has been completed.”

Major damage also was reported in the nearby town of Los Mangos, where residents said massive floods hit a day after the storm made landfall. “By dawn, the entire village was underwater,” recalled Anisleydis Hidalgo. “We were evacuated before the hurricane hit,” she said. “When we returned home, they came to tell us there would be flooding but no one expected the water to reach the level it did.”

She is living in a military-style tent with her 5-year-old daughter and two other families. Lianet Socarras, a social worker from Los Mangos, said that 58 people, including 30 children, are sharing 10 tents donated by the Government of India. “The most critical problem we have now is the supply of drinking water in the community,” she said, noting that there is none.

Soaked mattresses, electrical appliances, clothing, food, furniture and other belongings remain scattered outside the homes, with the smell of decaying carcasses of animals killed during the storm hanging over the town. Neither the hurricane nor the floods damaged the electrical system in Los Mangos, but scheduled power outages have lasted many hours, further exacerbating an already difficult situation.

In the southern coastal municipality of Guamá, several towns are still reeling from the storm. “The sea came into my house and soaked mattresses, electrical appliances and everything else that was there,” said Altagracia Fonseca., a 65-year-old retiree. More than 2,300 people were evacuated from the Río Cauto area, with more than 750 staying in private homes.