Daineris Reyes Martínez.

On the morning of October 27, as the sky began to darken with clouds, the sound of the river grew louder than the voices in the neighborhood. Daineris Reyes Martínez left Guamo, a town in the municipality of Río Cauto, with the sun hidden and the feeling that a hug was enough to sustain her.

Danisleidy Riol Castro.

Tears choke her words as Danisleidy Riol Castro recalls the terrible experience she went through that night, when the waters of the Cauto River flooded her home and threatened her life and that of her five young children. She remains at the Rita Longa art instructors' school, but her thoughts seem to be far away.

The Simón Bolívar mixed school welcomes evacuated people from Granma.

Behind every smile that can be coaxed out of a small child through a cultural activity, there is the inconsolable crying of a mother who, in a fraction of a second, has lost what she has spent a lifetime building.

A blackout in Las Tunas.

Managing energy adversity in Las Tunas is a complex exercise in balancing demand, available generation, and the need to maintain essential services, according to specialists from the local Electric Company.

Flooding in low-lying areas of the capital of Las Tunas: the flow of the "Hórmigo" river overflowed the bridge on René Ramos Street.
Flooding in low-lying areas of Las Tunas City: the flow of the "Hórmigo" river overflowed the bridge on René Ramos Street.
  • Although the powerful Hurricane Melissa did not make direct landfall, its outer bands left a trail of damage to electrical and telephone services, housing, and agriculture. Las Tunas begins to recover.