Cuba conducts emergency rescues as Rio Cauto floodwaters strand residents and cut off major transport routes after Hurricane Melissa.
RIO CAUTO: Emergency teams worked throughout Friday to rescue residents trapped by unprecedented flooding following Hurricane Melissa’s devastating impact.
The Rio Cauto overflowed its banks after Hurricane Melissa struck Cuba as a dangerous Category 3 storm with record-breaking rainfall exceeding 15 inches in eastern regions.
Rescue personnel wearing wetsuits waded through waist-deep water while utilising boats and military vehicles to reach people along the country’s longest river.
Floodwaters severed a crucial highway connecting Havana with eastern cities including Santiago, Bayamo and Guantanamo, forcing detours for both motorists and emergency responders.
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Eighty-three-year-old Rio Cauto resident Eduardo Verdecia expressed surprise at the rapidly worsening conditions despite initial expectations of receding waters.
“When night fell we thought it would go down, but look at it now, and it’s still raining,” Verdecia remarked while gesturing toward the chocolate-coloured waters approaching his roof.
Verdecia emphasised that this flooding exceeded all previous experiences, noting his home had never before been inundated.
Local radio broadcasts confirmed over 800 evacuations from riverside communities while warning of potential further river rises but assuring the reservoir dam remained secure.
Cuba reported no fatalities from Melissa, which began dissipating over the Atlantic after causing devastation across Jamaica and Haiti with at least 50 confirmed deaths.
Authorities had previously mobilised a massive pre-storm evacuation effort relocating 735,000 eastern residents to shelters outside the hurricane’s predicted path.
Tourists visiting Cuba’s northern keys were similarly transferred to inland hotels as part of comprehensive safety measures.
Recovery operations face complications from an existing economic crisis causing widespread shortages of essential items including food, fuel and medicine.
Several nations including Venezuela and United Nations agencies have offered assistance to the communist government.
The United States State Department announced readiness to provide hurricane relief despite longstanding political tensions with its close neighbour.
Cuba’s deputy director of US affairs Johana Tablada noted the Trump administration had not yet provided specific details regarding potential American assistance.
“The US has not made any concrete offers, nor has it responded to the questions we raised regarding the announcement made by the secretary of state,” Tablada told Havana reporters. – Reuters
