The President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, made a new visit on Thursday, November 13, to the eastern provinces affected by Hurricane Melissa, category 3, which impacted the region on October 29.

During his tour, the president supervised the recovery work in Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo, as part of his third consecutive day in the most affected area of the country.

In Santiago de Cuba, Díaz-Canel visited the popular councils of El Cristo and El Caney, where he spoke with residents and assessed the damage. In El Cristo, local authorities reported that electricity has been restored in the urban area, although interruptions persist in mountainous areas. Sanitation work has also been completed there after the historic flooding of the river.

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“Together we are going to move forward,” said the head of state, reiterating the government’s commitment that none of the victims will be left unprotected.

In El Caney, more than 2,000 homes are reported affected and the community of El Escandel remains incommunicado due to landslides. The main demand of its inhabitants is the stabilization of the water supply, a problem that already existed before the cyclone.

 At the provincial level, more than 95,000 homes have been affected. The electricity recovery reaches 43% throughout the province, while in the capital of Santiago it is expected to close the day with 84% of the service restored.

With regard to basic services, 68% of the population receives water through networks, and fixed and mobile telephony is restored to 38% and 48%, respectively.

Díaz-Canel called for national unity to speed up the work and urged the people of Santiago to join the support brigades from other provinces.

Later, the president moved to Guantánamo, where he toured the municipality of El Salvador, specifically the popular council of Costa Rica, one of the most affected.

He visited the Manuel Regojo Vera polyclinic and an office of procedures for victims, accompanied by the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz. It was highlighted that the electricity service in the province has recovered by 98.4%, and that of water, by 99%. Telephony is 86% complete, including the repair of three fiber optic cables in record time.

Some 15,000 homes were reported to be damaged at Guantánamo, of which approximately 4,000 have already been recovered. Authorities confirmed that no photovoltaic parks were affected by the hurricane, which facilitated the energy reconnection.

During his visit, Díaz-Canel inaugurated an auditory rehabilitation room at the 14 de Junio Special School, equipped with unique technology in the country to serve children with cochlear implants, deaf and hard of hearing.

The director of the center, Yaima Salas Ruiz, stressed that this facility will also benefit the deaf community of Guantánamo.

The president called for transparency in the delivery of resources, prioritizing the most vulnerable, dealing with abusive prices and controlling arboviruses. Melissa caused significant damage in eastern Cuba, but authorities reaffirm progress in comprehensive recovery.

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