The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) sent a ship with 7,110 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba after the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa, the organization’s executive secretary, Rander Peña, reported this Saturday.
In a video published on Telegram, Peña indicated that this ship contains supplies for the recovery of roads, 76 containers with food, as well as 5 backhoes.
“The people of Cuba should also know that President (Miguel) Díaz-Canel is in permanent contact with the team of experts that we sent there, who are also helping in the restitution of the power lines,” he added.
In addition, he said that in recent weeks, ALBA has sent more than 12 thousand tons of supplies to Cuba, affected by the passage of Hurricane Melissa a month ago.
The executive secretary said that the ships have been loaded with food, medicine, toys, as well as windows for the reconstruction of homes.
Melissa made landfall in Cuba at the end of October in the southeast of the country and left seven hours later in the northeast, accompanied by winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour and rains that left up to 400 millimeters (or liters per square meter) in some points.
The hurricane caused massive power outages; total and partial collapses of homes and infrastructure; road closures; widespread communications problems; severe flooding and considerable losses in agriculture.
The United Nations recently assured EFE that the magnitude of the catastrophe is “enormous” and that, despite the efforts, the authorities are “overwhelmed” with the needs of the more than 3.5 million victims.
The resident coordinator of the United Nations in Cuba, Francisco Pichón, explained that the first assessments underestimated the extent of the devastation and that more than 90,000 homes were affected or destroyed, and about 100,000 hectares of crops were damaged.
