Cuba sees devastation from Irma
Country prides itself on disaster preparedness
Hurricane Irma ripped roofs off houses, collapsed buildings and flooded hundreds of miles of coastline as it raked Cuba after cutting a trail of destruction across the Caribbean. It has killed at least 24 people and has officials scrambling to bring aid on Sunday.
As Irma left Cuba and directed its 215 kph winds toward Florida, authorities on the island were warning of staggering damage to keys along the northern coast studded with all-inclusive resorts and cities, as well as farmland in central Cuba.
There were no immediate reports of deaths in Cuba — a country that prides itself on its disaster preparedness — but authorities were trying to restore power, clear roads and warning that people should stay off the streets of Havana because flooding could continue into Monday.
Government news website Cubadebate said evacuations across the island totalled more than one million people.
Emergency workers in inflatable boats navigated flooded streets Sunday along Havana’s coastline, where thousands of people left their homes for safer ground before hurricane Irma hit Cuba.
Seawater penetrated as much as 1,600 feet inland in parts of the city. Trees toppled, roofs were torn off, cement water tanks fell from roofs to the ground and electrical lines are down.
Elena Villar and her mother spent the night huddling in the lobby of a building on higher ground as her home of 30 years filled with more than six feet of water.
“I have lost everything,” she said, on the edge of tears. Villar added: “I have never seen a disaster like this.”
Civil Defence Col. Luis Angel Macareno warned that the flooding in Havana would persist for more than 36 hours.
As Irma rolled in, Cuban soldiers went through coastal towns to force residents to evacuate, taking people to shelters at government buildings and schools — even caves.
Video images from northern and eastern Cuba showed uprooted utility poles and signs, many downed trees and extensive damage to roofs. Witnesses said a provincial museum near the eye of the storm was in ruins. And authorities in the city of Santa Clara said 39 buildings collapsed.
The keys off the north-central coast, where the government has built dozens of resorts in recent years, were evacuated of more than 5,000 tourists.
In Caibarien, a small coastal city about 320 kilometres east of Havana, winds downed power lines and a neighbourhoods were under water. Many residents had stayed put, hoping to ride out the storm.
Before slamming into Cuba, Irma had caused havoc in lush Caribbean resorts such as St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla, where many residents said they felt abandoned by officials.
The spokesman for France’s government, Christope Castaner, said in an interview with Europe1-CNews-Les Echos on Sunday that he “perfectly (understood) the anger” of people on the Caribbean islands.
But he defended the government response, saying emergency help was given “first priority.”
Castaner said many islanders had suffered “an impact of emotional shock, an impact that’s extremely hard psychologically.”
With power out to much of the French Caribbean region, France’s main electricity provider, EDF, said it has flown 140 tons of generators, pumps and other equipment to help St. Martin and St. Barts.
Many of Irma’s victims fled their battered islands on ferries and fishing boats for fear another hurricane, Jose, would destroy or drench anything Irma left untouched. But it veered to the north without doing much damage.
On the Dutch side of St. Martin, an island divided between French and Dutch control, an estimated 70 per cent of the homes were destroyed by Irma, according to the Dutch government.