Granma, Cuba Still Under Water 4 Days After Hurricane Melissa
Flooding in the Cauto Valley has left communities isolated and exposed the fragility of infrastructure in eastern Cuba.
HAVANA TIMES – Four days after Hurricane Melissa swept through Cuba, rescue and evacuation operations continue across several eastern provinces. The greatest danger remains in Granma, where heavy rains and overflowing dams have flooded vast areas of the Cauto River valley.
On Sunday, reports came from that province of the rescue of about a hundred people who had been trapped since Wednesday in the town of Los Mangos. Official media have covered the operations with an epic tone, while residents—frightened and exhausted before cameras, microphones, and helicopters—try to appear grateful. “What this country does, no other does,” said a neighbor who has never left his isolated community.
Since Saturday, an emergency operation has been underway in Río Cauto and Grito de Yara, involving more than 150 personnel and air, amphibious, and ground resources. The efforts have made it possible to evacuate entire families, including children and the sick, who were airlifted with a few belongings to safe areas.
In the neighboring province of Las Tunas, authorities have set up shelters in the municipalities of Jobabo, Colombia, and the provincial capital. Despite scarce resources, many locals have offered donations and voluntary aid—a gesture that contrasts with the bureaucratic rigidity of state institutions.
In Granma, only about half of the electrical service has been restored—a process authorities describe as “complex,” the official euphemism used to justify every failure—due to the large number of downed poles and damage to key installations. Communications have also been badly affected: segments of fiber optic cables and external plants have collapsed, leaving several localities cut off. Repair crews from other provinces, including Cienfuegos, Havana, and Sancti Spíritus, have been brought in to reinforce restoration work.
Recovery is also progressing slowly in Holguín, where the overflow of the Camazan reservoir forced the evacuation of more than 500 people in the Urbano Noris municipality. The communities of Estrada and San Francisco were isolated for more than 32 hours by both land and rail, complicating rescue efforts and exposing the vulnerability of the region’s hydraulic infrastructure.
The Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodriguez Davila, acknowledged on his Facebook page the severe damage to the railway system in Santiago de Cuba. The Central Line sustained serious impacts between kilometers 833 and 834.5, with stretches where the tracks were literally left suspended in the air. The bridge at kilometer 205.8, connecting Dos Ríos with Palma Soriano, collapsed completely, and several sections remain blocked by accumulated vegetation.
As for the solar photovoltaic system in eastern Cuba, official reports mention partial damage. In Granma, 19 panels were lost from the Las Tapias park, and several low-lying areas remain submerged. Authorities in Holguín, Las Tunas, and Guantánamo claim their installations withstood the storm “with minimal damage,” although local images contradict this version, showing parks covered in mud and deformed structures.
Meanwhile, the lack of transparent information has fueled unfounded rumors about another cyclone named Erin. In fact, that system formed in mid-August and never affected Cuba. There is currently no active cyclone in the Atlantic; the next one to form will be named Néstor.
Hurricane Melissa leaves behind isolated communities, damaged infrastructure, and, once again, an official narrative that celebrates the heroics of rescue operations while, for now, avoiding any mention of loss of human life.
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
Those railway lines look quite normal for Cuba !!!!