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Cubans count costs
of Ivan, wonder who will pay
By Mary Murray, Producer
NBC
News. Sept. 16, 2004.
PINAR DEL RIO, Cuba - The day after Ivan
skimmed Cuba's western coast on its way
north, Pedro Morales and his son tried to
get home.
They rode their bicycles more than 20 miles
before hitting a military roadblock a few
miles outside of town. Waiting at a bus
shelter, they were joined by dozens of their
neighbors also anxious to see what if any
of their possessions survived the Category
five hurricane, now hitting the U.S. Gulf
Coast region.
They also feared looting in their coastal
village of Playa Cana. "They won't
let us pass," complained Morales. "They
say it is too dangerous."
In an operation that was praised by the
United Nations for its efficiency, the government
evacuated nearly 2 million people from low-lying
areas ahead of Ivan's landfall, a program
which apparently avoided any Cuban loss
of life.
But the aftermath for Morales and thousands
of other Cuban remains uncertain, even when
they are allowed to return to their homes.
While the Cuban Parliament has promised
to help people rebuild, economics may dictate
something different.
A military official said Playa Cana was
swamped by a 25-foot wall of water when
Ivan hit Monday night. "Flooding was
so bad I had to send the first surveillance
team in on that," he said pointing
to an amphibious tank parked on the side
of the road.
"That could take at least 48 hours,"
he told the anxious crowd of men. He also
assured them that police stationed in the
flooded town would be enough to discourage
thieves.
Morales and his son waited just two hours
before hitching a ride back to the city
on a government flatbed.
The government has yet to assess the full
toll from Ivan, even though the island was
fortunate to escape a full frontal hit when
it struck Monday.
Yet, Cuba incurred $1 billion in damages
from Hurricane Charley last month and tens
of thousands dislodged by that weather system
are still living with relatives or in government
shelters.
The storm also poked holes in the island's
power grid, leaving a handful of Havana
provincial communities in the dark for months
to come.
Double whammy
The Hernandez family from the coastal fishing
village of Coloma was also caught in a waiting
game this week after their town was flooded
with sea water. It could take them at least
a week to return. "But to what,"
asks Humberto, a 46-year-old teacher.
Last month they lost their home to Hurricane
Charley.
"There's not much to salvage,"
said his wife Liliana. No furniture. No
stove. Little clothing.
Veronica, their 7-year-old daughter, packed
what was left of her story books and her
only remaining stuffed animal when the family
evacuated Sunday to a friend's sturdier
inland house.
Along the San Juan Highway on the western
coast of Cuba, there was plenty of evidence
of Ivan's wrath -- heavy flooding, downed
palm trees and mangled power lines, roofless
houses and others completely flattened.
Half a dozen men were nailing odd scraps
of wood to the roof of Abelia Atiaga's house.
The 67-year-old rice farmer has lived in
a wooden shack with dirt floors at the entrance
to her property for the last two years after
Hurricane Isadora destroyed the family home.
Since then, all she has managed to build
is the foundation to a new house. "The
big cement factory in Mariel is closed so
there's no building material," said
Atiaga.
Now with more hurricane damage to contend
with, she wonders when life will get back
to normal.
"At least we are alive. The storm
was terrifying. The noise scared me the
most," she said referring to Ivan's
160-mph winds and gusts that reached nearly
200 mph.
Hefty price tag
Everything is in short supply in Cuba, except
manpower. And that's what the government
harnessed to face Ivan.
Civil Defense authorities mounted a massive
evacuation plan, dispatching every available
truck and bus to move a record 1.9 million
people in 72 hours. So far, authorities
believe no one died in the storm.
The United Nations has praised President
Fidel Castro's government, saying its hurricane
preparations could serve as a model to other
countries-poor and rich alike.
"The Cuban way could easily be applied
to other countries with similar economic
conditions, and even in countries with greater
resources that do not manage to protect
their population as well as Cuba does,"
said Salvano Briceno, head of the U.N. International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
It may take weeks before the Cuban government
knows the full extent of the damage but
Castro has warned the island would be facing
a hefty price tag.
Bad news for his cash-strapped government
but devastating for people like Ricardo
Alvarez, a 33 year-old mason who lives with
his mother and a nephew in Pinar del Rió.
"This is where the dining room collapsed,"
he explained, pointing to a three-foot crater
in the cement floor. The kitchen ceiling
also caved in.
Water also poured into the house through
porous walls, soaking mattresses and other
vital possessions. When asked what he would
do, he admitted he had no idea as he held
back tears.
Mary Murray is an NBC News Producer
based in Havana.
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