Thousands of Cubans struggle without power and water nearly a month after Hurricane Melissa

RIO CAUTO, Cuba (AP) — Thousands of Cubans remain without power, water or proper shelter almost a month after Hurricane Melissa pummelled the island’s eastern region as one of the strongest Atlantic storms in history.

By day, families walk toward the nearest river to fill plastic containers with water and by night, they squeeze together to sleep under temporary shelters and tents.

“We lost everything in the flood,” 80-year-old Lucía García said. “I am very depressed and very sad here.”

García is living in a small classroom with her two sons, ages 45 and 55, and her ailing 81-year-old husband, who remains bedridden.

The school where they’re staying in the town of Río Cauto serves as a shelter for 14 families and is providing daily meals to them and 25 other families living with relatives and neighbours. Water delivery trucks pass by every three or four days.

Many of the town’s residents lived by the river and lost their homes after Melissa cut through eastern Cuba, forcing nearby dams to release huge amounts of water.

More than 2,300 people were evacuated from the Río Cauto area, with more than 750 staying in private homes, according to a November 10 report published in the official newspaper, Granma.

It claimed that the return of residents to their homes “has been completed.”

Major damage also was reported in the nearby town of Los Mangos, where residents said massive floods hit a day after the storm made landfall.

“By dawn, the entire village was underwater,” recalled Anisleydis Hidalgo.

“We were evacuated before the hurricane hit,” she said. “When we returned home, they came to tell us there would be flooding…but no one expected the water to reach the level it did.”

She is living in a military-style tent with her 5-year-old daughter and two other families.

Lianet Socarras, a social worker from Los Mangos, said that 58 people, including 30 children, are sharing 10 tents donated by the government of India.

“The most critical problem we have now is the supply of drinking water in the community,” she said, noting that there is none.

Power outages are constant in Guamá, and officials from the National Electric Union warned that repairs could take until mid-December.

But patience is running out.

Residents in the town of El Carmen recently blocked a main highway with fallen trees and electrical posts, noting they had been without electricity —even before Melissa hit.

“Everyone wants electricity, and we are working tirelessly to achieve this,” said Alfredo López, director general of the National Electric Union, in a heated discussion with residents in the middle of the blocked road.

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