“If you are going to do it, do it with enthusiasm because, if not, the losers are going to be us, the usual ones.” This is how one of the neighbors encouraged the numerous troops that this Monday were removing rubble from a building on Empedrado street, between Aguacate and Compostela streets, in Old Havana, where several interior balconies collapsed with the rains this Sunday.
It was not a serious collapse this time, and no one was injured, but the deployment of civilians and uniformed personnel was considerable. The section of the affected street was closed to the passage of vehicles. The cleaning tasks were done by hand, and the extracted beams were placed on the side of the street.
After several weeks of drought, western Cuba faced a storm that left streets flooded and power grid failures
After several weeks of drought, western Cuba faced a storm that left streets flooded and power grid outages. In some streets of the capital there were also branches and some lights knocked down by the storm this Monday.
The storm, which marks the beginning of the rainy season on the island, once again revealed the fragility of the Cuban electrical system, with 280 reports of failures, according to the Havana Electric Company. The institution recalled that 95% of the circuits in the city are aerial, which is why they are susceptible to external phenomena, and also recognizes that they “unfortunately do not have all the conditions for their operation.”
Downed poles and conductor cables and service cuts were the main complaints from users in the most affected municipalities: Playa, Plaza de la Revolución, Cerro, Arroyo Naranjo, San Miguel del Padrón, Marianao, Centro Habana, Boyeros, Cotorro, Habana del Este and La Lisa. The flooded streets made it difficult for passers-by to pass through, although this time traffic was not affected as much, since there are hardly any vehicles in a city paralyzed by the fuel crisis.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for accompanying us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.