Initial Damage Report on Hurricane Sandy

HAVANA TIMES — As Hurricane Sandy (105 mph winds) churns into the Bahamas, reports are beginning to come in on the damage caused during its passing over eastern Cuba.

Cuban TV reported hundreds of fallen trees in Santiago de Cuba with the entire city, Cuba’s second largest, without electricity.

The storm pulled off roofs of a still undetermined number of homes, felled trees as well as electric and telephone polls, noted Cubadebate.

The tourist installations at Baconao Park to the east of Santiago were hit hard both by winds and sea surges.

Waves on the south coastline reached up to 10 meters high along the Malecón seawall of Siboney, 9 miles from Santiago de Cuba. The seawater invaded the land for 35 meters.

Meanwhile, in Holguin, Cuba’s third largest city, damage was reported to houses in the municipality of Banes, as well as power and telephone outages in Cueto and Mayarí, said Cubadebate.

Hurricane Sandy passed over eastern Cuba without losing in intensity, noted the Cuban weather experts.

It is still a category two storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, close to becoming a major hurricane, as it moves into the Bahamas. The storm left Cuba near Cabo Lucrecia, Banes, Holguin, the same place where the devastating hurricane Ike entered in September 2008.

The TV reports showed flooding continues on the north coastline from Holguín to Villa Clara.

A more detailed report on the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy is forthcoming as the weather and road conditions make it possible to gather all the data.