Preparedness and sensitivity define recovery> Cuba> Granma

The Council of Ministers, led by its president Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, met again Tuesday night to continue badessing the damage caused by the tornado that struck Sunday in Havana and coordinate the efforts of the country. quick response view.

We need to shorten recovery times and be very sensitive in our dealings with victims, "said the president. Everything we rebuild, he said, must look better, stronger, and prettier than before.

According to Major General Ramón Pardo Guerra, Chief of the General Staff of Civil Defense, the number of deaths attributable to the meteorological event remains at four. A total of 1,286 dwellings would be affected, of which 1,238 were already visited, with the total number of landslides being quantified in 123 and partial landslides in 625.

With the pbadage of the tornado, 112 gas leaks produced in the municipality of Diez de Octubre were also resolved.

Reynaldo García Zapata, chairman of the government in the capital, announced that 14 offices had been created for the purchase of construction materials. Offices will begin to be available to victims as early as Wednesday. Of these, he mentioned roof modules and windows.

Confirmed that Friday, the municipalities of Guanabacoa and Regla should be completely cleared of debris; Diez de Octubre, considered the most affected, will be ready at the weekend. To this end, the work has been reinforced with brigades from the other territories of Havana and others from the provinces of Mayabeque, Artemisa, Matanzas, Pinar del Río and Cienfuegos. He also said that these tasks were joined by students and members of the Hermanos Saíz Association.

He acknowledged the leading role played by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior in these tasks.

Díaz-Canel pointed out that with the cleanup they should replant the felled trees with species that restore the greenery and that their roots do not damage the sidewalks.

Subsequently, the Minister of Public Health, José Angel Portal Miranda Portal, said that 74 people were injured as a result of the weather event, including 12 in serious condition. Regarding the 196 patients evacuated from the Galician Girls Hospital, this afternoon of Tuesday, there were 24 people who had received the medical discharge.

Portal Miranda said about the Polyclinic of the municipality of Regla that the problem of water supply was already resolved and that health services were beginning to be offered. In addition, medical insurance in this institution was strengthened and two ambulances were located for the evacuation of cases that require it. Until now, "he said," there is no epidemiological situation.

Antonio Rodríguez Rodríguez, president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, said that 873 damaged tanks are reported and that more than a thousand are available to offer the population.

At the same time, work is continuing to restore the electricity supply to the more than 144,000 customers who have been without power, as quickly as possible, said Raúl García Barreiro, Minister of Energy and Mines. About 83% of the damage has already been repaired, he said.

Among the alternative measures adopted to facilitate communications, sector chief Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella said that 31 public telephones have been activated, from which users can make free calls for up to three minutes. . He pointed out that after further details, it was confirmed that the number of damages amounted to more than 16,000 telephone services.

Food Industry Minister, Iris Quiñones Rojas, confirmed that it was possible to continue to supply flour stably to bakeries; In addition, canned fish will be distributed.

Although 11 wineries were affected, the sale of the Nordic family basket began without difficulty, said Minister of Internal Trade Betsy Díaz Velázquez. Extraordinarily, he reported that Tuesday had been detected a price violation in one of the products sold in the tents installed for the sale of food to the people in the areas affected by the tornado. Those responsible for the offense have been arrested and the corresponding penalties will be applied, he said.

The holder of Agriculture, Gustavo Rodriguez Rollero, explained that the sale of eggs in the affected municipalities was maintained and that the potato would begin to be distributed starting Friday. The Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, said that international organizations such as the World Food Program, the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Fund for the United Nations childhood had donated rice, beans, roofing tarpaulins, water tanks and educational and recreational equipment for children, all these products being deposited on the national territory.

Regarding offers of help from countries and individuals, he said that the country had put in place a mechanism for this purpose and had to coordinate via the MINCEX.

Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, Minister of Transport, said that all services had been progressively restored and work was under way to recover the car facilities that had been damaged by the tornado. In addition, he added, the transport of the force that intervenes in the sanitation works of the city is organized.

The Minister of Economy and Planning, Alejandro Gil Fernández, reaffirmed that the country was able to support the recovery and had resources such as tiles, wood and steel, which should start to be distributed to the population in the coming hours.

The secretary of the provincial party committee, Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar, acknowledged popular participation in sanitation and debris collection tasks in the early hours of Monday.