Cuba: Preliminary Information on Damage Caused by Hurricane Irma

Cuba's National Defense Council has released preliminary information on the damage caused by Hurricane Irma, based on data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics and Information, and the three Strategic Regions.

According to the report, more than 150,000 homes were affected in Cuba by Hurricane Irma and 11,689 people continue to receive state support. As many as one million people were evacuated to safer areas before the hurricane hit.

The document recalls that the regions most affected by the weather phenomenon were the provinces of Camagüey, Ciego de Ávila, Sancti Spíritus and Villa Clara. Other provinces such as Guantanamo, Holguín, Las Tunas, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Mayabeque and Havana were also damaged by severe coastal flooding, strong winds and heavy rains.

The report also points out that following a drought in Cuba that has lasted three years, the rains that accompanied Hurricane Irma are favoring the water situation of the Caribbean island.

According to the report by the National Defense Council, the accumulated rainfall in September has reached 256.4 millimeters, representing 137 percent of the historical average for this month. The reservoirs have accumulated 6,302 million cubic meters, equivalent to 68.4 percent of the total capacity.

The hurricane passed along much of the northern Cuban coast between a Category Five to Three on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which classifies it as 'high intensity.' The storm caused the loss of 10 lives and substantial material damage during the 72 hours of its passage.

According to experts, Irma was the most intense hurricane of the last 10 years that hit the Caribbean, the most powerful formed in the main body of the Atlantic Ocean and one of the 10 most intense recorded in the world.