United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator in

From: Office of the Resident Coordinator in Cuba

Subject: Situation Report No. 4 “Hurricane IKE”- September 12, 2008- 18:00 hrs.

Situation:

In the final two months of the Hurricane season, Cuba has had to face, in a short period of time, several extreme meteorological events. Tropical Storm FAY and Hurricanes GUSTAV, HANNA and IKE have severely impacted the population and the economy of the country.

Across the country, significant efforts are being made in the recovery phase and the national authorities in each territory continue to assess the losses.

As of today, the 12th of September, the Granma Newspaper indicated that it is impossible to resolve the magnitude of the catastrophe with the current resources available in the state reserves. The losses are so great that it is impossible to reach all areas at once; the priority will be on areas which suffered the greatest damage.

The United Nations System continues to work in effective support of the Government of Cuba in the recovery process. To date, 1.08 million USD has been committed to assist the most affected.

This morning, the United Nations Country Team in Cuba, led by the Resident Coordinator, held the second meeting with international cooperation representatives based in Cuba.

Cash donations in support of the recovery efforts, can be made through the following bank account:

Account Number: 033473 Bank: Banco Financiero Internacional ( BFI) Account Title: MINVEC Huracanes restauración de daños

Measures adopted by the Government of Cuba:

The National High Command of Civil Defense, in its Informative Note 9, indicates the need to examine the situation of each of the persons that are under protection, sending back home those whose dwellings allow for their return and relocating those persons who can not return home because their homes were destroyed or flooded. It additionally urged a continued evaluation of damage, sanitation work in all areas, increased medical vigilance and to adopt all measures to avoid the out break of diseases.

With respect to the school year, it has been decided to begin classes on Monday 15th September in all schools in conditions to do so, irrespective of the place where they might be

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 located. Additionally, the Ministry of Education pointed out that, given the damages recorded in each county or city, solutions can not be of a general nature, but will have to take into account the specific condition of each territory and school and apply all possible variants to allow for the earliest return to classes.

In regards to the agricultural sector, the recovery strategy is now based on the immediate harvest of all recoverable produce, the recovery of tobacco sheds, the stimulation of urban agriculture, acceleration of the planting of short-cycle crops and reestablishing the manual milking of cows in those facilities that have lost roofs and suffered damages to milking sheds.

Preliminary Damage:

To the lamentable death of four persons, already reported, should be added an additional three fatalities reported today by Civil Defense. One person died in Santiago de Cuba when he abandoned the safety of a house where he had taken refuge and drowned after falling into a swollen river. Another victim, a neighbor of Havana, Cuba’s capital city, did not wait for proper authorization to return to the unsafe building where he lived and died when the structure collapsed. The third victim, in the Eastern province of Las Tunas, was crushed when a wall from a neighbor’s house fell on him while he slept.

Alcides Lopez, Agricultural Viceministro, issued a preliminary report on the damage sustained by that sector. He noted that: • Serious damage has been sustained in a diversity of crops. Banana plantations in the Holguin and Las Tunas Provinces have lost 80 and 90% respectively. More than 50,000 hectares of banana plantations alone have been lost across the country. • Almost 10,000 ha. of yucca, 1,000 of sweet potatoes, 920 of seedlings and 2010 of other cultivations. • 40 million eggs were lost and 430,000 laying hens died. • 12,000 tons of pork meat is lost. • 1,455 cattle-holding facilities are damaged and 526 animals died. • 350,000 cans of coffee beans have been lost.

Additionally, 700,000 tons of foodstuffs are affected.

The communications sector has been severely affected, with a serious impact in telecommunications, broadcasting and postal and telegraphic services. The most affected territories are Holguin, Las Tunas, Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Youth. Approximately 65% of all phones are without service. In the nation, 8,000 telephone posts were affected and, as of yesterday, 67,000 telephones were still out of service.

The following damages are additional to those listed in previous issues of these reports.

Province of Guantánamo

Housing In the municipality of Baracoa alone, 540 houses have been destroyed completely, 604 houses with partial collapse, and 1,755 have lost their roofs partially or totally, for a total of 2,889 damaged. The municipality has suffered three unprecedented floods this year.

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

Province of Granma This morning, Friday, in Granma more than 30,000 persons remained evacuated, the majority coming from the low-lying lands of the Río Cauto municipality, where the communities of Grito de Yara, Santa Rosa, Cayama, Las mil Nueve, Vado del Yeso, Cauto Embarcadero and Guamo are flooded.

Water and Sanitation There is damage to the potable water distribution system. It will be necessary to reestablish the water supply, restore the water treatment plant in Santa Isabel, repair the two drains in the Bayamo River and rebuild the dam.

Roadways The rising of the Salado River has interrupted transit, mostly for light vehicles at km 35 on the central highway.

Hydraulic Situation Runoff from the surrounding provinces and the local mountain are flowing into the waterways and reservoirs of the territory and causing serious overflowing and persistent flooding. In the case of the Rio Cauto municipality, flooding resulted in 2,000 evacuees that had just been returned home to only then be re-evacuated. Currently 27,000 persons are in protected shelters, 6,400 of which are public institutions.

Province of Holguín More than 2,030 persons were evacuated to institutional shelters.

In the municipality of Gibara the sea penetrated 200 meters inland, resulting in loss of possessions for the families.

Health Damage has been reported to 20 health facilities, among them the Gibara and Mártires de Mayarí hospitals, with damages to glass, roofs and electricity.

Province of Las Tunas Thousands of work centers are reported damaged. In the municipality of Menéndez, in the northern part of the province, the landscape shows scenes of destruction.

Agriculture and Fishing In the northern part of the province, sugar canes fields are totally destroyed. Approximately 6,016 hectares of cane to be cut next season were affected.

The province’s forest was critically damaged.

Food Damage is reported to the sugar warehouses for domestic consumption.

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

Education 90 school centers are reported to be damaged. In the municipality of Menéndez recently repaired school centers have been serious affected.

Industry The Carúpano Port was devastated.

Power Grid 555 electrical posts are affected.

Hydrological Situation Three dams are draining their waters into the sea.

Telecommunications Various communities in the province still do not have telephone service.

Tourism 10 tourist facilities suffered damage.

Housing A preliminary assessment states that more than 65,000 dwellings are affected.

Other 18 cultural facilities and 13 sports facilities have suffered damage.

Province of Camagüey 7,000 persons still remain in shelters.

Agriculture and Fishing There is considerable destruction to crops, fruit and hardwoods. Approximately 45,000 hens died. In addition, stables, chicken sheds, hog barns and other holding facilities are reported destroyed.

Culture The damage to the theatres Principal (inaugurated in 1850), Avellaneda and Guiñol of Camagüey includes the roof and towers of the stage areas.

Education 394 educational institutions are damaged, 20 fairly severely.

Health 77 Health Centres were hit by the intense winds. Among them, the Pediatric Hospital of the Florida municipality, where the steam boiler was affected.

Power Grid 555 electrical posts are affected.

Housing At last count, 61,000 dwellings were impacted: of these, 7,000 collapsed totally.

Other 399 commercial establishments suffered damages. 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

Province of Ciego de Ávila Significant damage is being reported to buildings, crops and sugar cane plantations, and the Turiguanó-Cayo Coco causeway.

Agrculture and Fishing The principal damage to the sugar sector is concentrated on the roofs of the processing centres of Ecuador, and .

Water and Sanitation The water pipe to Cayo Coco has been damaged in more than 30 spots.

Roadways 24 kms of road structure has been affected in 14 places (10 of which are severe) on the road towards the tourist resort of .

Province of Sancti Spíritus Of the 27,000 hurricane evacuees, 4,250 remain in shelters. The situation will improve when the Zaza dam returns to normal.

Agriculture and Fishing More than 1,500 hectares of sugar cane has been damaged.

Education 126 schools are damaged.

Power Grid Only 30 circuits are still in need of repair.

Housing Preliminary reports indicate that 84 houses have collapsed and 1,782 face partial damage.

Villa Clara Province Education Rural schools in the Gaviña, Mayarí and El Sopapo communities were destroyed.

Housing Hundreds of homes in La Sierrita, El Sopapo and Cuatro Vientos communities lost their roofs.

Hydraulic situation In some communities (La Sierrita, El Sopapo, Cuatro Vientos) the accumulated rain is more than 500 millimeters in less that 24 hours.

Matanzas Province Hydraulic Situation Five of the province´s eight water reservoirs are draining their water due being at full capacity because of abundant rains. The reservoirs are 99% full.

Calle 18 No. 110, Miramar, La Habana, Cuba, Apdo 4138, Tel: (537) 204 1513, Fax (537) 204 1516, [email protected], www.onu.org.cu 5

Havana Province 2,769 persons are still evacuated, mainly due to sea penetrations and flooding.

City of Havana Province Education 405 educational institutions were affected, of which 22 primary school suffered considerably.

Power Grid Power has not been fully restored. The Capital City’s 15 municipalities still report interruptions as a result of Ike’s winds. 37 electrical circuits still need to be connected, and the main blackouts affect Boyeros, Plaza de la Revolución, and East Havana in the Guanabo area— Playa and Guanabacoa.

Telecommunications More than 13,000 telephones are out of service.

Housing Experts still continue to evaluate the damage caused to housing in Cuba’s Capital City, So far, 153 houses have collapsed, 37 of them fully. The most dangerous situation is high rises and other brick buildings in bad condition. Housing experts note that 2,172 persons will not be able to return to their homes due to the threat posed by possible building collapse. This figure might increase as structures dry out.

Health Most serious damage was sustained by the Enrique Cabrera, Eusebio Hernandez and Fructuoso Rodríguez hospitals. Important damages are also verified in the William Soler Children’s Hospital due to a breakdown of the water mains.

Pinar del Río Province Some 193,000 persons are still evacuated either in Government-provided shelters or in homes of family or friends. The number of evacuees increased by 45,000 since 10 September as a result of flooding caused by torrential rains.

Housing 100 homes in Isabel Rubio were flooded by the Cuyaguateje river, the largest in westernmost Cuba. The area is isolated. The Los Palacios county reports 6,108 homes have totally collapsed.

Hydraulic situation 31 water reservoirs are at 82% capacity, and this level will likely increase due to mountain runoff and overflowing rivers. In the Candelaria, Viñales and Los Palacios counties over 300 millimeters of rain water were recorded.

Calle 18 No. 110, Miramar, La Habana, Cuba, Apdo 4138, Tel: (537) 204 1513, Fax (537) 204 1516, [email protected], www.onu.org.cu 6

Agriculture and Fishing All poultry farms have virtually collapsed and are in ruins.

More than 50% of the tobacco sheds are in bad condition. In the La Palma county, 700 tons of rice, tubers and produce were lost, as well as 30,000 cans of coffee beans.

Water and Sanitation Pinar del Rio city reports the breakdown of service in two of its three most important water mains, one of them due to lack of electricity and the other one because of flooding in the source.

Food At the Los Palacios county, over 30% of the warehouses at the Rice Farm and the Cubaquivir enterprise have lost their roofs.

Education Over 50 % of the educational centers have been affected.

Special Municipality of the Isle of Youth:

Damage is severe and extensive as a result of Hurricanes GUSTAV and IKE striking the territory.

Actions Taken by the United Nations System in Cuba:

The United Nations System (UN) in Cuba has kept its disaster management mechanisms active, given the grave situation that country is going through. The UN Country Team and the UNETE continue to closely follow the current situation and work towards a preliminary evaluation of the severe effects.

Up to the present, the United Nations System has mobilized 1.08 million USD in support for the recovery process: OCHA (100,000 USD), PAHO/WHO (50,000 USD), UNDP (100,000 USD), UNFPA (50,000 USD), UNICEF (280,000 USD) and WFP (500,000 USD).

The United Nations Country Team, led by the Resident Coordinator, held a second meeting with the international community and NGOs since the impact of hurricane GUSTAV. The Resident Coordinator made a presentation on the damages caused by hurricane IKE and the United Nations response to the grave damages provoked by both GUSTAV and IKE. At this meeting, the various representatives of international cooperation discussed the actions being made to support the process of recuperation in the country. The UN in Cuba is awaiting the approval of its application to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in response to GUSTAV and will prepare a second application for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) support to IKE recuperation.

At the exchange it was pointed out the need to share and make known these actions by the international community in cooperation with Cuba. To this end, the United Nations in Cuba has offered space in its Situation Reports that would include those activities that it is desired to make known.

Calle 18 No. 110, Miramar, La Habana, Cuba, Apdo 4138, Tel: (537) 204 1513, Fax (537) 204 1516, [email protected], www.onu.org.cu 7

The Resident Coordinator/Designated Official in consultation with the SMT has decided to maintain security PHASE 1: PRECAUTION in the entire Cuban territory. Any mission by UN personnel outside of Havana or international missions to Cuba must obtain “Authorization to Travel”. For international missions to Cuba this authorization can be requested through the UNDSS webpage. https://dss.un.org/dssweb. Internal missions should fill out the appropriate form and send it to the Designated Official, Ms. Susan McDade.

A specialist from OCHA remains in the country to support the UN in Cuba in their response to the damage caused by GUSTAV and IKE.

The OCHA and UNDSS offices, located in Panama, have maintained constant communication with the Resident Coordinator/Designated Official offering their support. Other UN headquarters and regional offices have been in contact with their respective agencies in Cuba.

The team preparing the Situation Reports continues to work consistently.

Information:

For further information, please contact the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Cuba, at the following e-mail addresses: Susan McDade: mobile 53 52802757; email [email protected]; Roberto Gálvez: mobile 53 52851470; email [email protected]; [email protected] [email protected]; [email protected].

Consult the United Nations Website in Cuba: www.onu.org.cu For national information, consult: Instituto de Meteorología de Cuba http://www.insmet.cu Infomed Red De Salud Cubana http://www.sld.cu/sitios/huracanes/ Periódico Granma http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu Periódico Juventud Rebelde http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/ Agencia Cubana de Noticias http://www.ain.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 8