Diaz-Canel checks damage caused by Melissa in eastern Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, November 6 (ACN) Miguel Diaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, toured the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, the territory most severely damaged by Hurricane Melissa.

According to the Presidency, this is the second time the president has visited Santiago de Cuba since the tropical cyclone struck a week ago.

On Tuesday night, the president arrived in the city of Santiago from Rio Cauto, where he met with the Provincial Defense Council to assess the recovery efforts in the province that suffered the most damage from the winds and rains.

Accompanied by Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, First Secretary of the Party in the province, the head of state visited Babujal, a community in Guama, where one of the roads connecting Granma to Santiago along the southern coast is currently cut off.

There, they discussed the assistance being provided to the communities of Palma Mocha, La Cueva, and La Plata, which have been isolated since the hurricane.

The President learned that these settlements are receiving airlifted food, water, medicine, and other supplies.

Also, at the Uvero bridge, which was undermined on one side, the President called for reinforcing the engineering brigades and finding a solution to make this road between the sea and the mountains more resistant to the impact of weather events.

In Aserradero, a community where the eye of the cyclone lingered for 35 to 40 minutes, materials are already arriving to repair homes.

These include 2,500 roof tiles to address the roofing problem, the main damage suffered by 938 of its 1,932 houses, Norelvis Perez, president of the People's Council, explained to the President.

The Head of State spoke of gradually returning to normal and of everyone working together to restore the beauty of this historic area.

Diaz-Canel traveled to Cojimar, where all 187 houses were damaged and all the residents are involved in the recovery efforts, in an atmosphere of solidarity.

The residents recounted to the president the difficult early morning of October 29th and the days that followed.

They embraced him and thanked him for being there, for the help they are receiving, and took the opportunity to send greetings to Raul, who loves this humble town so much.

The iconic town of El Cobre, which today presents a desolate image due to the devastation caused by Melissa, was another stop on the Cuban president's tour, where he called for everyone's participation in the recovery.