In Cuba, much work remains 6 months after Sandy

In Cuba, much work remains 6 months after Sandy

A half-year after Hurricane Sandy, Cuba has had successes in recovery

but much work remains

By Peter Orsi, Associated Press | Associated Press



HAVANA (AP) -- Many people in eastern Cuba are still living with family

or in houses covered by flimsy makeshift rooftops six months after

Hurricane Sandy pummeled the island's eastern provinces, residents and

aid workers said Thursday.



Many praised the government's efforts to rebuild Santiago and other

cities but said much work remains to recover from the storm, which

caused 11 deaths in Cuba before raging up the U.S. Atlantic Seaboard and

killing 72.



"It was very hard-hit, but Santiago is once again blossoming," Aristides

Zayas, a receptionist in Santiago said in a phone interview. "Of course

the magnitude was such that not everything can get off the ground in six

months. It will take time."



The half-year mark comes amid preparations for similar commemoration by

states up and down the U.S. East Coast, where Sandy blew ashore in New

Jersey on Oct. 29 as a monster storm that resulted in billions of

dollars in damage.



Sandy had raked eastern Cuba four days earlier, causing major crop

losses and damaging an estimated 130,000 to 200,000 homes. The

government has not said how many of those have yet to be repaired or

rebuilt.



Cuban scientists say Sandy's surge penetrated 50 yards (meters) inland

and permanently altered much of the eastern coastline, washing away

entire beaches and depositing sand elsewhere.



Shortly after the storm hit, Cuban President Raul Castro visited

Santiago and said the city looked like it had been "bombed."



Cuba's highly organized civil defense brigades mobilized to get newly

homeless people into shelters, distribute food and water and replant

uprooted trees. Authorities also extended loans for rebuilding and

knocked 50 percent off the price of home materials for storm victims.



Communist Party newspaper Granma said Thursday that for visitors today,

"the first thing that catches one's attention and impresses ... is to

find a clean and well-ordered city."



But residents said problems remain.



"From what I hear some things are still lacking," said Sister Mirtha, a

Roman Catholic nun in the town of El Cobre, 30 miles (50 kilometers)

east of Santiago. "Some people have roofs, but others still do not.

There are people who are getting rained on, and it's thanks to neighbors

that they have somewhere to go."



She said some who live in informal housing situations have had

difficulty getting their hands on building materials, because residents

are required to show property titles to get the discounted items.



An international aid worker who has been closely involved in the relief

effort said construction materials like bricks and corrugated iron

rooftops are in short supply since local production is not meeting

demand, and many items must be imported. Some families have moved back

into damaged homes with just plastic sheets covering the roofs.



"They've done really well on re-establishing access to services like

electricity and water, reopening roads, clearing out trees that have

fallen down," the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity in

order to maintain the organization's relationship with island

authorities. "All of that was quite quick given the scale of the impact."



"But at the individual level there's still a lot of work that needs to

be done ... and my sense is that the government can't tend to every

family's individual needs."



State-run news agency Prensa Latina reported this week that Santiago

provincial authorities are prioritizing construction to make sure

everyone displaced by Sandy has a safe place to live, a mission that

takes on more urgency with the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season set to

begin June 1.



There's also still plenty of work for international aid groups, which

are continuing to distribute things like water tanks, purification

tablets, mattresses, sheets, towels and other household goods.



"There's still a lot of families that are living in very precarious

situations," the aid worker said. "Now that's a bit of a concern,

because the rainy season's coming and you want to make sure that people

have proper shelter."



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Associated Press writer Andrea Rodriguez in Havana contributed to this

report.



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Follow Peter Orsi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Peter_Orsi



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