MIAMI, United States. – The Cuban regime suspended the 40th edition of the Havana International Fair (FIHAV 2024) due to the damage caused by Hurricane Rafael in the west of the country, according to informed the organizing committee of the event.
According to the note published by the official newspaper Granmathe decision was made due to “force majeure” after the meteorological phenomenon caused significant damage to the Expocuba fairgrounds, the fair’s usual venue.
However, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, pointed out that, between Monday and Tuesday, some planned programs and meetings were held, carrying out activities with certain businessmen, although several had to be canceled.
The official also explained that Expocuba suffered damage to the central pavilion and number two, in addition to falling trees. Drinking water, electricity and infocommunication services are interrupted in the area.
Despite the material damage, the companies’ assets were kept safe and so far no losses have been reported in this regard, according to Pérez-Oliva Fraga.
As an alternative measure, other facilities have been set up so that businesspeople can carry out the meetings that had been previously agreed upon.
The minister announced that, based on this experience, the possibility of moving the date of future editions of FIHAV is being evaluated to avoid coincidences with the hurricane season.
Hurricane Rafael, category three on the Saffir-Simpson scale, strongly impacted western Cuba, where it caused serious damage to homes, infrastructure and agriculture, as recognized by the Cuban Government in its first damage assessment.
The cyclone made landfall at 4:20 pm on Wednesday, November 6, along the southern coast of the province of Artemisa and left the national territory more than two hours later along the northern coast of Pinar del Río.
The Cuban Institute of Meteorology (INSMET) recorded sustained winds of up to 185 kilometers per hour and intense rains that reached 200 millimeters. The towns of Alquízar and Güira de Melena, in Artemisa, were particularly affected, with flooding that left entire neighborhoods under water and significant destruction of homes and crops, according to local media reports.
The Cuban ruler, Miguel Díaz-Canel, reported on social networks after a meeting of the National Defense Council: “Major damages in Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana.”
For his part, the regime’s prime minister, Manuel Marrero, in a televised intervention described that the damage had been “very heavy in housing, infrastructure and agriculture.” He also referred to the total blackout that affected the country ―presumably due to the cyclone―, the second in less than a month.
