The painful footprint of “Ian” in three provinces and the special municipality
In the provinces of Havana, Mayabeque and Artemisa, and in the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, “Ian” has also left his painful mark, with an economic balance yet to be quantified.
Author: Mailenys Oliva Ferrales | internet@granma.cu
Author: Liz Conde Sánchez | internet@granma.cu
September 27, 2022 23:09:20
Pinar del Río after Hurricane Ian
Photo: ACN
With the brutal force of a category 3 hurricane, “Ian” left a trail of pain in its path through the west of the country that will take time, effort and many resources to erase.
Damage to civil and state infrastructure, effects on the electrical service and communications, flooding due to heavy rains, penetrations of the sea, and losses of several crops, were, until last night, among the preliminary effects associated with this meteorological phenomenon.
And although the epicenter of his scourge was suffered by the territory of Pinar del Río, in the provinces of Havana, Mayabeque and Artemisa, as well as in the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, “Ian” has also left his painful mark, with a economic balance yet to be quantified.
THE CAPITAL REMAINS ALERT
Despite the fact that hurricane “Ian” was already moving away from Cuba at the close of this Tuesday, Havana woke up today on alert due to the possible occurrence of winds and rains, as well as strong swells in low-lying areas.
This was noted at the meeting of the Provincial Defense Council of the capital, which was attended by Esteban Lazo Hernández, a member of the Political Bureau and President of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP).
At that meeting, the meteorologist Yinelis Bermúdez warned that, when “Ian” left Cuban territory and traveled towards the Florida Strait, it would gain in intensity, causing strong swells on the north coast of Havana for this day, with waves that can reaching three meters in height and with the danger of flooding in low-lying areas.
However, in the province there were already reports of damage to the electrical service, the telephone line, and the water supply, in addition to reports of fallen trees and partial landslides in the municipalities of 10 de Octubre, Arroyo Naranjo, Marianao, and Habana Vieja.
Similarly, more than 14,000 people continued to be evacuated, some 5,900 of them in the homes of relatives and friends, and another 8,000 in protection centers.
Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar, first secretary of the Party in Havana, urged to continue complying with the measures adopted for this stage of cyclonic alert in which the capital still remains.
He especially emphasized attention to evacuation and multilateral assurances, in the collection of solid waste (fallen trees, debris), in monitoring the hydrometeorological and electro-energy situation, and the hygienic-sanitary situation (especially the fight against dengue).
He also made a call to pay attention to the issue of food, and to give special monitoring to coastal floods and rains, to support internal order and security, and to maintain the information system for the people.
For his part, Esteban Lazo Hernández stressed the importance of trying to eliminate the effects produced in the capital in the shortest possible time, so that the country can concentrate on other territories and Havana can support other provinces.
Precisely to verify on the ground the actions to confront the hurricane, Lazo Hernández toured areas of the Playa and Centro Habana municipalities, especially verifying the low-lying areas prone to penetration by the sea.
The President of the Cuban Parliament also visited the Hermanos Ameijeiras Surgical Clinical Hospital, and there he specified that due to the vulnerability of this municipality in its housing stock and the effects of flooding from the sea, the coastal area of the boardwalk is being monitored for any incident that may occur. Present.
THE WIND “PUNISHED” THE ISLAND
Wind gusts of more than 105 km/h were recorded in some communities of the Isla de la Juventud special municipality, during “Ian’s” passage through that territory.
As detailed by the Islavision telecenter on its Facebook profile, although the rains were not significant on the Island, sustained winds of up to 45 km/h were perceived, which caused considerable damage to housing roofs.
Engineer Ignacio Moya Álvarez, director of Load Dispatch for the municipal Electric Company, also reported that the first circuits affected by the hurricane were those located in the towns of La Fe, La Melvis, La Victoria, Argelia, La Reforma and other adjacent areas.
He added that, subsequently, the residential areas of Micro 70, Abel Santamaría, El Bosque and other popular councils were affected.
To a lesser extent, fallen trees and branches were reported in areas near the Héroes del Baire hospital, in the capital of Pinar del Río; meanwhile, the 14 reservoirs of the municipality did not have large accumulations of water, nine of them remaining above 95% of their filling capacity.
ARTEMISA AND MAYABEQUE ARE NOT ALONE
The members of the Political Bureau of the Party, Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, and Salvador Valdés Mesa, Vice President of the Republic, arrived in the province of Artemisa to verify the damage caused by Hurricane “Ian” in that territory.
According to the newspaper El Artemiseño, the Commander of the Revolution and Vice Prime Minister, Ramiro Valdés; the deputy prime minister, Inés María Champán and the member of the secretariat of the Central Committee and head of its Economic Department, Jorge Luis Broche Lorenzo.
In a meeting at the Comandante Pinares hospital in San Cristóbal, the Cuban leaders learned about patient care and procedures for medical emergencies, while they were interested in the protection actions for some 12,000 Artemiseños in evacuation centers and houses. of family and friends, and the impacts of the phenomenon in other areas.
On the other hand, according to Martín de la Concepción Cordero, director of the Artemisa Electric Company, the province was left completely without electricity around four in the morning on Tuesday, and later, during the day, reports more than 92,000 customers without electricity service.
“As soon as the weather conditions allow it, we will assess the damage and test the lines that are determined to be ready to do so,” he added.
Other press reports also indicate that in the municipality of Alquízar, 40% of the banana plantations in production are damaged, as well as 15% of the areas under development.
Meanwhile, in the territories of San Cristóbal, Bahía Honda and Candelaria ―the closest to the province of Pinar del Río― gusts of wind exceeding 130 km/h were reported, and penetrations of the sea in the coastal community in Playa Caimito.
In the afternoon, the journey of the delegation headed by Morales Ojeda and Valdés Mesa, extended to the province of Mayabeque, where they visited the southern municipality of Batabanó, one of the most affected in that territory by floods.
According to the local press, in that municipality a part of the population at risk was evacuated, fishing boats were protected and collection centers were secured with the aim of reducing the damage associated with intense rains.
Also in Mayabaque, the member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and head of its Economic Department, Joel Queipo Ruiz, and Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, Deputy Prime Minister, toured the Pedroso Diversion Plant in the Güines, anticipating possible discharges if they increased. rainfall, and taking into account that the effects of the hurricane on the Island may remain during this day.
In the same way, according to what the Civil Defense authorities have indicated, in all these territories the recovery actions will begin when the weather conditions allow it.