United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator in Cuba
From: Office of the Resident Coordinator in Cuba
Subject: Situation Report No. 2 “Hurricane Paloma”— 12 November 2008, 16:00 hrs.
Situation:
On 8-9 November 2008, Cuba was struck, in less than 10 weeks, by a third high-powered hurricane named PALOMA.
On a tour of the affected areas, Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, provided specific information on the assessment of the damage caused by the hurricanes in this cyclone season, as reported in Granma newspaper today, 12 November 2008.
• GUSTAV brought about losses in the order of CUC 1.919 billion (US$ 2.072 billion); • IKE caused damage valued at CUC 6.737 billion (US$ 7.275 billion); • This accounts for CUC 8.656 billion in losses (US$ 9.349 billion); • With the new damage caused by Hurricane Paloma, losses will be in the vicinity of US$ 10 billion.
The most affected territories are engaged in the recovery phase.
Measures adopted by the Government of Cuba:
The Cuban authorities continue to take measures and actions as part of the recovery phase, the highlights being as follows:
• Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, and other high-ranking authorities toured the most affected areas. • They facilitated the return of most evacuees to their places of origin. • They continued to provide temporary accommodation/housing and food to the people that have lost their homes. • They facilitated the activation of cleaning and rubble/garbage removal brigades. • They mobilized vehicles and specialized personnel from other non-affected provinces in order to restore the electricity service and telecommunications. • They facilitated the initial work of engineering brigades in the rehabilitation of roads/highways and railway lines, carefully inspecting all bridges and spans (viaducts). • Rehabilitation actions started on the affected crops. • Several public services that had been discontinued during the emergency were restored.
Calle 18 No. 110, Miramar, La Habana, Cuba, Apdo 4138, Tel: (537) 204 1513, Fax (537) 204 1516, [email protected], www.onu.org.cu 1
Preliminary Damage:
Disruptions and damage reported in this SitRep are in addition to those contained in SitRep 1.
www.juventudrebelde.cu
Agriculture
In Camagüey province, mainly in the southern municipalities, damage was caused to sugarcane plantations and fields of roots, tubers and vegetables.
www.adelante.cu
Electricity
In Camagüey province:
• The electricity-energy supply system was affected, with Santa Cruz del Sur, Najasa and Jimaguayú municipalities running out of power and Camagüey, Sibanicú and Vertientes sustaining damage.
www.adelante.cu In Las Tunas province:
• There was a temporary disruption in Jobabo and Colombia municipalities (already restored today). However, Amancio municipality was still out of service today in the morning; particularly, Guayabal, the most affected area.
Telecommunications
In Camagüey province, Santa Cruz del Sur municipality still has very limited communications.
In Las Tunas province, the main disruptions are concentrated in Amancio Rodríguez municipality.
Calle 18 No. 110, Miramar, La Habana, Cuba, Apdo 4138, Tel: (537) 204 1513, Fax (537) 204 1516, [email protected], www.onu.org.cu 2
Roads and highways
There is damage to the road/highway infrastructure on the southern coasts of Camagüey and Las Tunas provinces. There are reports of stretches of roads and highways stripped of pavement, with downed trees and large quantities of sand and stones from the seabed.
Housing
Camagüey province:
• Santa Cruz del Sur municipality reports 9,889 houses either destroyed or damaged. Of those, 1,353 have sustained total cave-ins.
www.adelante.cu Health
Camagüey province:
• Most disruptions are reported in Santa Cruz del Sur municipality, particularly in the three family doctor offices and the pharmacy of La Playa area. • Najasa and Guáimaro municipalities also report damage in this sector.
Actions taken by the United Nations in Cuba:
The United Nations System (UNS) in Cuba maintains its disaster management mechanisms activated in light of the serious situation that the country is going through. The Cuba UN Country Team and UNETE are still engaged in close monitoring of the current situation and the preliminary evaluation of the severe disruptions.
The headquarters and regional agencies of the United Nations System are in contact with their Cuba-based agencies. The OCHA and UNDSS offices located in Panama have maintained constant contact with the Resident Coordinator/Designated Officer, offering their support.
Information:
For further information, please contact the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Cuba:
Susan McDade: mobile (53 5) 280-2757; e-mail: [email protected] Alberto D. Pérez at [email protected] Liudmila Curbelo at [email protected]
For further information on the Cuba-based agencies:
FAO: Marcio Porto at [email protected] PAHO/WHO: Lea Guido at [email protected] WFP: Sonsoles Ruedas at [email protected] UNDP: Roberto Gálvez at [email protected] UNESCO: Herman van Hooff at [email protected] UNICEF: José Juan Ortiz at [email protected] Calle 18 No. 110, Miramar, La Habana, Cuba, Apdo 4138, Tel: (537) 204 1513, Fax (537) 204 1516, [email protected], www.onu.org.cu 3
Consult the United Nations Website in Cuba: www.onu.org.cu
For national information, consult:
Instituto de Meteorología de Cuba at http://www.insmet.cu Infomed Red de Salud Cubana at http://www.sld.cu/sitios/huracanes/ Periódico Granma at http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu
Calle 18 No. 110, Miramar, La Habana, Cuba, Apdo 4138, Tel: (537) 204 1513, Fax (537) 204 1516, [email protected], www.onu.org.cu 4