EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 13 September 2017 — A total of 4,288 homes in Havana were damaged during the passage of the mighty Hurricane Irma, with 157 total collapses and 986 partial collapses, according to preliminary official reports published Wednesday in the island’s press.
In the Cuban capital, the state newspaper Granma said there were 818 roofs destroyed and another 1,555 affected, as reported in meeting of the Havana Defense Council attended by top government figures, the ruling Communist Party (PCC) and the Armed Forces.
“In the face of this situation, the roofs of the buildings are being restored, where there is damage of this type, and two premises have already been set up, one in the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo and another in La Lisa, with the aim of housing the affected families,” said Granma.
The report does not specify where the damaged homes are located, but the areas of Havana most affected by the hurricane were the neighborhoods of Vedado, Centro Habana, Habana Vieja and Miramar, where the sea penetrated almost 330 yards inland.
Centro Habana and Habana Vieja, both in the founding area of the city, both have a large number of old houses in poor condition.
Of the 10 people who died in Cuba as a result of the hurricane, most of them lost their lives due to building collapses.
Irma hit the capital on Saturday night and its hurricane force winds also caused serious damage to the electrical service, with electrical poles and lines fallen, as a result of which many areas of the capital have remained without electricity or water for more than 72 hours.
In Havana, nine food preparation centers have been set up in eight municipalities, “in order to guarantee the food supply, especially for the sheltered families, at a reasonable price.”
Medical coverage has also been guaranteed and the health system “continues to strive to prevent epidemics,” provincial officials said.
In Havana there are still hundreds of fallen trees, some obstructing traffic in the middle of busy main roads, such as Tercera Avenue in Miramar, along with others where electrical poles and lines have fallen over the roadway.
The streets closest to the coast still have stones and sand washed up by the sea, and on the sidewalks there are mattresses, clothes and appliances set out under the sun.
