More than 700 economic objectives belonging to the retail and wholesale trade system were affected by the passage of the strong Hurricane Ian by the western region of Cuba, according to official media reports on the island.
The Ministry of Domestic Trade (Mincin) confirmed that among the entities impacted in some way by the meteorological phenomenon there are warehouses, warehouses, construction material stores and gastronomy establishments, according to a office of the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
The Retail and Wholesale Trade System was impacted in more than 700 economic objectives, the largest amount is concentrated in Pinar del Río, with 580 facilities, with greater weight in the retail establishments of the Trade with 578 units.
https://t.co/yHFEitAqu7– Trade Cuba (@MincinCuba) October 1, 2022
The main directors of that organization stressed that all the resources available in the sector are based on recovery, with a special look at Pinewood of the river, most affected territory. Here 580 damaged installations were quantified; the vast majority of retail units of the Commerce of local subordination, among them partial and total collapses of roofs are reported.
The wholesale food system has also been affected in the warehouses of the Base Business Unit (UEB) 108, in the provincial capital, with roof losses and perimeter fencing, and in general the damage is substantial.
In Artemisa, 108 facilities have been affected, especially in the municipality of Bahía Honda, while in Havana there are 25 affected establishments, of which 17 are from the retail network. The Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud reported damage to nine retail units and in Matanzas only one establishment was damaged by the passage of the cyclone, the text specifies.
The directors of the Mincin reported that the Defense Councils are working on the creation of temporary facilities that help protect resources and maintain the vitality of services. It also transpired that in the wholesale stores the process of distribution to the retail network and social consumption is resumed, under campaign conditions.
As part of the strategy designed by the Government, the agency works on logistical assurances to warehouses such as power plants, extensions, tape measures, cleaning utensils, blankets for covering merchandise, supplies, water, tents and campaign houses, among others, said those responsible cited by the ACN.
#CommerceCienfuegos supported the people of Pinar del Río with the preparation of food in the El Plaza Restaurant, for the workers of the Electrical Brigade that marched to Pinar del Río, with the aim of restoring the effects of the fall of electrical poles and lines. pic.twitter.com/MM3XtR29VT
– Trade Cuba (@MincinCuba) September 30, 2022
Among the priorities set by the Mincin is maintaining offers of food prepared in the gastronomy and processing centers, destined for the evacuated population, the personnel involved in the recovery actions and the population, which currently has limitations in cooking food due to frequent power outages.
Based on the available inventories, donations, the arrival of food donation modules and the pre-positioning of resources from the World Food Program (WFP), actions are also designed and specified to protect the affected population, differentiating between groups. vulnerable.
As for the port-transport-internal economy operation, since last Wednesday port operations and railway loading and unloading centers were restored, which gives continuity to the distribution of the products of the family basket and the social consumption, according to the sources consulted by the ACN.
The directors affirm that all the operations that are currently being carried out, and those carried out before the passage of the hurricane, must guarantee the start of the sale of the regulated family basket as of this Saturday and maintain vitality in the rest of the services, not only those linked to food, but also non-food.
The UN offers help to Cuba for its recovery after the passage of Ian
Hurricane Ian made landfall in the west of the island with category 3 on the Safir-Simpson scale and left in its wake three fatalities and considerable material damage, especially in the housing fund of the province of Pinar del Río, and notable effects on the region’s infrastructure.
In addition, it caused the collapse of the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) -according to the official version- leaving the entire country without power generation.
The complex situation of the blackouts continues without being fully resolved by the Electric Union, which has also had to take on the recovery of poles, cables and transformers destroyed by the atmospheric phenomenon. Similarly, the authorities have had to tolerate new outbreaks of protests due to unrest and the consequences of the blackouts.
