Meanwhile, the governor of Las Tunas, Yelenis Tornet Menéndez, stressed that the greatest efforts are currently focused on restoring food production, and assured that of the 538 homes that suffered some kind of damage, 411 have been restored.
In the health sector in particular, the minister responsible, Dr. José Angel Portal Miranda, explained that of the 710 institutions affected in the five eastern provinces after Melissa passed through, 185 have already been restored, 27 of them in the last week, mainly in Santiago de Cuba.
He added that of the 23 services that had to be relocated in the early days, the figure now stands at 16, most of them in the province of Santiago de Cuba. He also noted that of the more than 5,700 workers in the sector who were affected, more than 4,200 have already returned to work, representing 73.4%.
Taking into account the epidemiological risks, Portal Miranda explained that active screening of the population in these provinces has been increased, with special emphasis on risk groups, and that anti-vector actions and other actions associated with outbreak control have been intensified.
Regarding the water supply to the population, the president of the National Institute of Water Resources, Antonio Rodríguez Rodríguez, stated that each province has already identified which pumping stations need to be restored and what is needed to do so. Regarding other damage that occurred in the sector, especially in canals and dams, of the 97 damaged pumping stations, he said that work has been completed on 22, with priority given to those associated with the agricultural sector.
Later, the Minister of Agriculture, Ydael Pérez Brito, reported that 183,000 hectares have been recovered, with the preparation and planting of land currently being the main priority for work in the sector.
The damage caused by Hurricane Melissa to the electrical infrastructure in the eastern region has been almost entirely repaired. Santiago de Cuba, the most damaged area, has 99% of its infrastructure restored. Photo: Pastor Batista Valdés
Due to the heavy rains that fell over the weekend in areas of the province of Villa Clara, the meeting—attended by Political Bureau member and Vice President of the Republic Salvador Valdés Mesa, as well as several ministers—also followed up on the situation in that territory.
According to Governor Milaxy Yanet Sánchez Armas, more than 253 millimeters of rain fell in just a few hours, causing severe flooding in communities in the municipalities of Sagua la Grande and Cifuentes. This led to the evacuation of some 753 people, most of whom were taken to the homes of relatives, neighbors, or friends.
In the province, we are in a position to address the damage that has occurred and recover, she assured.
