The reestablishment of electric service in Artemisa is progressing at 58.19%. Photo: Cubaminrex
The National Defense Council, headed by President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, decided on Monday that Mayabeque province will return to normal after the impact of Hurricane Rafael on that territory. The province continues with the recovery of housing.Major General Ramón Pardo Guerra, chief of the National Civil Defense General Staff, acknowledged the work deployed by the management agencies in the territory, the solidarity shown by the population, as well as the disciplined compliance with the measures oriented. He valued as hard the work developed to recover the vital services and the socio-economic activity of the province.Precisely on the recovery in Mayabeque, its first secretary, Yuniasky Crespo Baquero, Ya 1informed that the electric service has already reached 98.6% of its population and 1,985 clients are still pending, especially in the most isolated communities. Tonight this situation should improve, and on Wednesday it should be completely resolved, he said.Regarding fixed telephony, also damaged by the hurricane's strong winds, he said that 95.53% of the fixed telephony has been restored. Meanwhile, some 20,000 people are still without water service, a smaller number than before the hurricane, when 50,000 people were affected.In the case of housing, 2 206 damages have been accounted for, of which 90 have been recovered. Regarding sanitation, he said that even though some areas are still missing, most of the province is clean of the debris left by the meteorological phenomenon.From Artemisa - the province that suffered the most damage - it was reported that 58.19% of the electric service has been reestablished, and that it should close Monday at 62%; the municipalities of Alquízar, Caimito and Mariel are the least advanced. In the territory, informed Gladys Martínez Verdecia, member of the Political Bureau and president of the Provincial Defense Council, the reinforcement of electric brigades has been maintained.Communications continue to be restored: fixed telephony is at 89.4% and mobile telephony at 84%. The water supply is also gradually recovering: 81% of Artemisians are already receiving service through different modalities. Of the 186 water supply sources in the province, 113 are providing service, which "is a more favorable situation".According to Martínez Verdecia, 21,060 homes have been affected, of which 6,489 have been certified by the commissions assessing the damage. A little more than 260 homes that partially lost their roofs have already been recovered.In addition, progress continues to be made in the reconstruction work of the affected hospitals, all the resources are in the territory and the approved schedule is being met, she said. This Monday, added the First Secretary, the school year resumed in the province.From Havana, Liván Izquierdo Alonso, president of the Provincial Defense Council, informed that the electric service is fully restored; the water service reaches 92.9% of the capital's population (126,000 clients were still affected at the end of Monday); and 88% of the fixed telephony service had been recovered.He explained that they are working hard on the sanitation of the city, a pending issue since before the passage of hurricane Rafael through the city. Work has been reinforced in the most complicated municipalities, these are: Boyeros, La Lisa, Playa and Marianao. The week that is beginning, considered Izquierdo Alonso, will be decisive in this task.In the National Defense Council session, the recovery of Guantanamo was also checked, after the impact of hurricane Oscar last October. Its governor, Alis Azahares Torreblanca, reported that electricity is fully restored; water supply is at 94%, and work is underway to recover five aqueducts. He said that materials for the reconstruction of houses continue to arrive in the province: up to this Monday, 680 houses had been recovered. From Santiago de Cuba and Granma, provinces affected by two earthquakes on November 10, he also reported on the recovery work of the damaged infrastructure. President Díaz-Canel indicated to accelerate the pace of housing recovery, taking into account that more than 70 % of the damages have been classified as minor.In this meeting of the National Defense Council, which meets every day since the contingency situation began in the country, participated the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz; the Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, Roberto Morales Ojeda; the Vice President of the Republic, Salvador Valdés Mesa, as well as other leaders of the Party, the Government and the mass organizations.
