{"id":8114,"date":"2023-06-14T08:29:29","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T08:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=8114"},"modified":"2023-06-14T08:29:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T08:29:42","slug":"cuba-floods-six-dead-as-heavy-rain-hits-the-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cuba-floods-six-dead-as-heavy-rain-hits-the-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba Floods: Six Dead as Heavy Rain Hits the Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Alejandra Garcia on June 13, 2023 from Havana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Heavy rains are leaving a desolate panorama in eastern Cuba. Entire communities are buried under thick mud and water due to the torrential and prolonged rains that have been lashing the country for the past weeks. So far, six people have lost their lives in the floods, and more than 39,000 are sheltered in the homes of neighbors, relatives, or state facilities, according to official reports from the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overflowing rivers and creeks, landslides, interruption of roads, and significant damage to homes are the most severe damages reported by authorities. The sudden overflowing of rivers and streams, landslides, and road blockades caused more than 25,000 people to be stranded and cut off  in isolated communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe floods are unprecedented,\u201d a resident of Jiguan\u00ed municipality, Granma, told the press and warned that today\u2019s scenario is reminiscent of that left by the deadly cyclone Flora of 1963, the second largest catastrophe ever recorded on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, the aftermath is devastating. Thousands of homes were affected, some of them fully covered by water, and hundreds of families lost all or part of their belongings. The Department of Agriculture is reporting that over 11,400 hectares of sugarcane and food producing land have been completely inundated. Areas that had been suffering severe droughts are now facing the exact opposite with equally disastrous results. Preliminary reports show considerable losses in beans, maize, and yucca crops. Thousands of families have lost basic home items, such as mattresses and refrigerators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this latest blow that Cuba is having to deal with there has been a flurry of hopeful images circulating in recent days: an elderly woman in the arms of a rescuer, who moves through knee-deep muddy waters; a girl in a small boat being pushed to a safe area by a group of neighbors; villagers carrying on a raft the few belongings they were able to rescue from their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again the solidarity of the Cuban people is being put to the test as it happens every time the island faces a hard situation. During the most critical moments of the pandemic, government and volunteer support groups were created to receive and send donations to the most affected areas. This was the case in Matanzas, for example, when its hospitals began to be saturated with COVID cases while the country faced a deficit of medical oxygen due to not being able to procure parts for the equipment because of the blockade. Entire communities devoted themselves to collecting medicines, medical supplies, food, sheets, towels\u2026 to be sent to the hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And those hard years of Covid are not the only example. It is common for these initiatives to occur after every scourge of nature or in unfortunate accidents. For decades, Cubans have developed the instinct to share the little they have with those who have lost everything, especially in recent years, which have been marked by shortages of all kinds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerardo Hernandez, national coordinator of the CDRs, reviews individual donations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every community in the country -and I am a witness to this- is collecting all kinds of clothes and objects that can be useful to those who lost everything right now. The word spread among the neighbors in my block, and we started collecting toys, coats, cleaning products, and canned food. The head of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), who is in charge of receiving the donations, in my area can barely walk through the living room of her house because of so many packages that people have been delivering spontaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything can be summed up in a phrase from Che, shared today by Gerardo Hernandez, National Coordinator of the CDRs, on his Twitter account: \u201cThe true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nightmare in the East of the country is apparently not over yet. Authorities and Civil Defense agencies have warned that the risk of heavy rain will remain high, coupled with possible landslides in mountainous terrain and flash floods in flat, poorly drained urban areas and near rivers and streams. However, no matter how much more difficult the scenario may become. Everyone matters and no one will be left behind. Cuba has already given proof of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The intensity and extreme nature of these rains this early in the season can only be attributed to the affects of global warming that our beleaguered earth is having to endure like never before. While this flooding continues in Cuba massive fires in Canada with high winds has displaced 120,000 people; many from rural indigenous communities. Everything is connected and the Canadian fires created code red air quality in the Northeast of the US to the point that for several days New York City had the distinction of having the worst air quality than any place on the planet. Meanwhile the heads of corporations, who are most responsible for climate deterioration, continue to play their fiddles like Nero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Resumen Latinoamericano \u2013 English<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heavy rains are leaving a desolate panorama in eastern Cuba. Entire communities are buried under thick mud and water due to the torrential and prolonged rains that have been lashing the country for the past weeks. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101011,"featured_media":8115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3254,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cuban-doctors-to-help-iota-victims-in-guatemala\/","url_meta":{"origin":8114,"position":0},"title":"Cuban doctors to help Iota victims in Guatemala","author":"Editorial Team","date":"November 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A Henry Reeve Cuban Medical Brigade left for Quiche department on Thursday to assist communities affected by the destructive Tropical Depressions Eta and Iota through Guatemala.The group, will work in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance in this country, and it is made up of 20\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guatemala-brigade.jpg?fit=748%2C498&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guatemala-brigade.jpg?fit=748%2C498&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guatemala-brigade.jpg?fit=748%2C498&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guatemala-brigade.jpg?fit=748%2C498&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7667,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/first-news-after-hurricane-ian-sweeps-western-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":8114,"position":1},"title":"First News after Hurricane Ian Sweeps Western Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"September 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"President Miguel Diaz Canel in Pinar Del Rio this morning. photo: Estudios Revoluci\u00f3n Update: We sent this out last night and since then the entire country of Cuba is without electricity after a failure in the national grid. Reports are saying that 2 people have died from the storm in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/9-29-img.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3177,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cuba-advances-in-recovery-from-the-impact-of-eta-and-covid-19\/","url_meta":{"origin":8114,"position":2},"title":"Cuba advances in recovery from the impact of Eta and Covid-19","author":"Editorial Team","date":"November 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Recovery is the word of order in Cuba today, after a week of heavy rains due to tropical storm Eta, in the midst of the fight against Covid-19 and to boost the economy.After the meteorological event at the beginning of the week, without resulting in any deaths in the national\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/recuperacion-eta.jpg?fit=748%2C498&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/recuperacion-eta.jpg?fit=748%2C498&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/recuperacion-eta.jpg?fit=748%2C498&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/recuperacion-eta.jpg?fit=748%2C498&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2265,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cubas-clean-rivers-show-the-benefits-of-reducing-nutrient-pollution\/","url_meta":{"origin":8114,"position":3},"title":"Cuba\u2019s clean rivers show the benefits of reducing nutrient pollution","author":"Editorial Team","date":"June 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"For most of the past 60 years, the United States and Cuba have had very limited diplomatic ties. President Barack Obama started the process of\u00a0normalizing U.S.-Cuba relations, but the Trump administration reversed this policy,\u00a0sharply reducing interactions\u00a0between the two countries. Scientific cooperation is a bright spot in this difficult history. Since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/river-cuba.jpeg?fit=474%2C355&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7767,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/pinar-del-rio-epicenter-of-recovery-after-ians-impact-on-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":8114,"position":4},"title":"Pinar del Rio, Epicenter of Recovery After Ian\u2019s Impact on Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"October 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Fifteen days after the passage of Hurricane Ian through western Cuba, authorities, technicians, neighbors, and entire communities are continuing to work tirelessly to reestablish the services most demanded by the population, and much remains to be done. This territory is today the epicenter of the recovery efforts amid the devastation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/cuba-alejandro-1.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5796,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cuba-shows-how-to-take-action-on-climate-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":8114,"position":5},"title":"Cuba Shows How to Take Action on Climate Change","author":"Editorial Team","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"BY HELEN YAFFE Cuba, a small island besieged by the United States, is taking concrete measures to reorient its economy in the fight against climate change. It\u2019s an example that the whole world should take seriously. Cuba may be responsible for only 0.08 percent of global CO2\u00a0emissions, but this Caribbean\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1224539040-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1224539040-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1224539040-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1224539040-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xdTY-26S","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-06-14-at-09.21.35.png?fit=296%2C219&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101011"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}