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Las Tunas province has officially entered the recovery phase following Hurricane Melissa. The National Civil Defense General Staff decided this after confirming that the territory, along with Holguín and Guantánamo, does not present a complex hydrological situation and is ready to begin post-hurricane operations.
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- Written by Dayana Menzoney Justiz / Photo: Reynaldo López
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The Las Tunas Provincial Transportation Company has made all its resources available to the municipal Defense Councils to assist with recovery efforts after the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Before, this agency contributed to the movement of personnel and resources in anticipation of the meteorological event's impact.
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Following a weather event, recovery efforts must begin. In our province, directors of various sectors have started implementing an action plan to restore essential services, with special attention to fuel distribution and water supply for the population.
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On Wednesday night, the Provincial Defense Council made its first assessment of the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa in several municipalities of Las Tunas province, mainly affecting homes and the electrical and telecommunications infrastructure.
MINOR IMPACTS IN SOME MUNICIPALITIES
In the municipality of Manatí, some damage to the lightweight roofs of homes was reported. In Puerto Padre, homes, power, and telephone lines were damaged. The most severe situation occurred in the community of Delicias due to the overflow of the dam located there, which caused flooding in homes in the La Represa and La Granjita neighborhoods, specifically on 29th, 41st, and 45th Streets. In Jesús Menéndez, partial damage was reported to homes, trees, and the electrical and telecommunications networks. Other agricultural damages are reported but are still being assessed. The Juan Sáez Dam continues to be evaluated and monitored.
In Majibacoa, 36 incidents were reported across 12 state entities, affecting 10 homes and causing 12 power outages. A section of the main road in the Carmenate area was briefly closed due to a stream overflowing its banks.
In the provincial capital, at least 23 trees were downed, and 15 power and telecommunications poles were damaged. In this, the most populated municipality, more than 21,000 people were evacuated.
In Jobabo, 48 people were taken to shelters, and damage to housing, electrical, and telecommunications infrastructure was minor. In Colombia, 107 residents remain evacuated, and minor damage was reported to a couple of homes. In Amancio, only three homes received minor damage, and local authorities declared themselves ready to move into the recovery phase.
MELISSA IN METEOROLOGICAL DATA
The Provincial Meteorological Center reported that Hurricane Melissa brought sustained winds of 90 kilometers per hour (km/h) and a gust of 108 km/h to Puerto Padre. Meanwhile, the meteorological station in the city of Las Tunas recorded sustained winds of 70 km/h and a gust of 87 km/h, all during the early hours of Wednesday. Meteorologists specified that the center of Melissa approached within 107 km southeast of Las Tunas City.
EFFORT TO RESTORE ELECTRICITY AND TELEPHONE SERVICES
As of Wednesday evening, only 12 percent of customers in the area had power service. "We are currently in the certification process of the circuits to proceed with repairs and gradually restore power as generation capacity allows," explained Anisley Santiesteban Velázquez, technical director of the Las Tunas Electric Company. The goal is to resolve all outages within three days, he stated.
Regarding the photovoltaic solar parks, the director specified that only seven panels at the Parada park and 52 at the Nueva Línea are completely damaged. These will be replaced this Thursday, and both facilities will be operational shortly, he said.
The Territorial Division of the Cuban Telecommunications Company (Etecsa) updated its data, reporting 21,000 affected landline services, mostly due to power outages. Approximately 60 mobile phone base stations stopped working for the same reason. Despite this, company officials assured that the situation should improve in the coming hours, thanks to mobile generators that will bring the stations back online until service is restored from the National Electrical System.
Three support brigades from the provinces of Ciego de Ávila and Havana are already in Las Tunas. Linemen and repairers from the less damaged areas will gradually reinforce their colleagues in the most affected, explained Nelson Reyes, head of the Territorial Division.
Melissa left an average of 87 millimeters of rain, although in the town of Vega de Mano, the rain gauge recorded 225 millimeters, the highest in the entire province. This caused the diversion dam to begin to alleviate, which forced the evacuation of residents downstream; meanwhile, authorities wait for the water level to recede to assess the extent of the damage to the dam's structure. As of Wednesday afternoon, the reservoirs in Las Tunas province were at 51 percent capacity, 10 percentage points higher than before the passage of the meteor.
In particular, the "Juan Sáez" dam increased its water storage to over 61 million cubic meters, equivalent to 54 percent of its capacity. The largest reservoir in the province continued to receive water from the river basins of the neighboring province of Holguín.
OTHER AREAS AND NEXT ACTIONS
Meanwhile, Melissa's damage to the agricultural sector appears to be limited to plantain fields nearing harvest time, not those currently being cultivated. Sector officials are reviewing the damage to corn crops.
No serious damage to the province's main road and railway infrastructure is apparent.
The offices handling administrative procedures are expected to be operational this Thursday, according to Yelenis Tornet Menéndez, Vice President of the Provincial Defense Council.
In the education sector, only minor damage was reported at 14 schools, but the sports community is concerned about the condition of the roof of the Leonardo McKenzie multisports hall.
The health system suffered roof damage at five pharmacies, but hospitals were unaffected. Now, experts will focus on controlling diarrheal diseases and arboviruses, and preventing outbreaks of other illnesses such as hepatitis A and leptospirosis. Supplies needed to resume normal hemodialysis services should be delivered by Thursday.
The return of evacuees from the southern municipalities could also begin today, but in the rest of the province, each case must be analyzed individually, said Osbel Lorenzo Rodríguez, president of the Provincial Defense Council.
He anticipated a massive sanitation campaign in the next two days. "The affected areas must be better than before Melissa passed through," he emphasized, and urged cooperation between government agencies and citizens for this cleanup effort.
Walter Baluja García, Minister of Higher Education, and Marydé Fernández López, Deputy Head of the Ideological Department of the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee, participated in this Defense Council meeting.
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The Governing Council of the Supreme Popular Court of Cuba, exercising the powers conferred upon it by Law No. 140 of October 28, 2021, "On the Courts of Justice," agreed to suspend judicial proceedings and terms in all matters under the jurisdiction of the courts in provinces affected by Hurricane Melissa.
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