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Cuba

Cuba: Situation Report No. 6 Hurricane Ike 16 Sep 2008 18:00 hrs

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Situation:

A report published today, September 16, by the official newspaper Granma with preliminary data on the damages caused by hurricanes GUSTAV and IKE asserts that they are estimated at 5 billion USD. The data provided below is a summary of official data.



Cash donations in support of the recovery efforts, can be made through the following bank account opened by the Government of Cuba:

Account Number: 033473
Bank: Banco Financiero Internacional (BFI)
Account Title: MINVEC Huracanes restauración de daños

Measures adopted by the Government of Cuba:

The High Command of Cuba's Civil Defense announced that it will activate its centers in all of Cuba to direct the rehabilitation of vital services that have been disrupted by the impact of Hurricanes GUSTAV and IKE.

According to its Informative Note 10 on Hurricane IKE, the National and Provincial Defense Council's Command Centers will guarantee the reception and distribution of materials sent to each territory with a view to recovery work. The governing levels in each province will also evaluate their work towards rehabilitation in order to request, when the tasks are concluded, the closing up of the Civil Defense centers in their respective counties.

Preliminary Damage:

Most affected regions by GUSTAV

- Special Municipality of Isle of Youth

- Pinar del Río Province: municipalities of San Cristobal, Los Palacios, Consolación del Sur, Viñales, La Palma, Minas de Matahambre, Candelaria and Bahía Honda, mainly.

Most affected regions by IKE

This hurricane particularly affected several municipalities in the country. These are:

- In Guantánamo province: Baracoa and Maisi.

- In Holguín province: Holguín, Banes, Antilla, Moa, Rafael Freyre, Mayarí and Gibara.

- In Las Tunas province: Las Tunas, Puerto Padre, Manatí and Jesús Menéndez.

- In Camagüey province: Camagüey, Nuevitas, Guáimaro, Najasa, Florida, Sibanicú, Minas and Santa Cruz del Sur.

- In Ciego de Ávila province: Ciego de Ávila, Venezuela, Baraguá and Majagua.

- In Sancti Spiritus province: Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad and La Sierpe.

- In Villa Clara province: Manicaragua, Encrucijada, Santo Domingo and Sagua la Grande.

- In Cienfuegos province: Cumanayagua and Aguada de Pasajeros.

- In Matanzas province: Matanzas, Unión de Reyes, Calimete, Perico and Jaguey Grande.

- La Habana province and Ciudad de La Habana province sustained several damages, although they are not as important as those in the rest of the country.

- Pinar del Río province and the Isle of Youth were also damaged by hurricane-force winds and heavy rains.

Agriculture and fisheries

Damage caused by GUSTAV

Total loss of crops in 55,700 hectares, mainly sugar cane and other crops. 877 organic and 392 intensive plots were affected.

80% of poultry farms were damaged in the Isle of Youth and 100% of these farms were affected in eight municipalities of Pinar del Rìo.

3,414 tobacco sheds destroyed and other 1,590 affected, as well as 800 tons of tobacco leaves.

180,000 hectares of forests were affected.

Damage caused by IKE

205 covered cultivation sheds destroyed.

Wind and rain destroyed the coffee crop in some of the most productive fields in Cuba: Mayarí, Sagua de Tánamo, Maisi and Granma Province.

32,305 hectares planted to bananas and 10,000 hectares. Planted to other crops were lost.

Half a million laying hens were lost, although 100,000 could be sold to the population. Damage to the poultry sector is significant in Sancti Spíritus, Matanzas, Las Tunas and Camagüey.

Areas planted to several agricultural products were lost at installations operated by the Sugar Ministry, including 10,000 hectares. of bananas, rice, beans and other crops.