Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08HAVANA717
2008-09-02 21:44:00
CONFIDENTIAL
US Interests Section Havana
Cable title:
MGJM01: HURRICANE GUSTAV DEVASTATES WESTERN CUBA
how-toVZCZCXYZ0001 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHUB #0717/01 2462144 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 022144Z SEP 08 FM USINT HAVANA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3689 INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHMFISS/COGARD INTELCOORDCEN WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUCOGCA/NAVSTA GUANTANAMO BAY CU PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000717
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2013
TAGS: CU EAID PINR PINS PREL XL XK
SUBJECT: MGJM01: HURRICANE GUSTAV DEVASTATES WESTERN CUBA
Classified By: COM Jonathan Farrar for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000717
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2013
TAGS: CU EAID PINR PINS PREL XL XK
SUBJECT: MGJM01: HURRICANE GUSTAV DEVASTATES WESTERN CUBA
Classified By: COM Jonathan Farrar for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (U) Through a combination of official news and contacts
with individuals in the affected regions, we can report that
it appears that Pinar del Rio province suffered severe damage
in Hurricane Gustav, and that housing and infrastructure on
the Isla de la Juventud was almost totally destroyed.
Still, according to official GOC statements, there were no
fatalities and only 19 injuries attributable to the storm.
Property damage, including damage to basic infrastructure
like bridges, docks and power transmission lines, appears to
be extensive.
2. (U) Pictures being shown on local television and in
newspapers testify to the strength of hurricane Gustav.
Houses appear to have been turned into piles of lumber,
cultivated fields of platano and other crops are leveled,
electrical transmission towers are toppled into crumpled
masses of steel as far as the eye can see, and a reinforced
concrete building in Isla de la Juventud is reduced to
rubble. The accompanying text or voice over acknowledges the
heavy damage, but focuses on the success of the government's
actions in preventing loss of life and assuring that the
losses will be recouped quickly--all thanks to the commitment
of all Cubans to the Revolution.
3. (C) Efforts to assist the GOC have already begun. Press
is reporting that 4 Russian aircraft are on their way to Cuba
with relief supplies. COM met with UNDP chief Susan McDade
(please protect) who said the UN is looking at providing at
least as much assistance as it did following Tropical Storm
Noel in November 2007 ($2.3 million). McDade noted, and the
Hungarian Ambassador later confirmed to COM, that the
European Community had agreed to provide 2 million euros in
support to all of the affected Caribbean countries. However,
both McDade and the Hungarian ambassador said they believed
the GOC would refuse the EC offer. In the past McDade has
directed UN members' bilateral offers of assistance to the
UN's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA).
4. (C) For its part, knowing that the GOC will never ask
for assistance, and will refuse assistance that does not suit
its plans, UNDP asked the GOC what type of support it would
not reject and then worked from that base. McDade said the
GOC Council of Ministers met Monday night and the GOC told
her Tuesday that its most urgent needs in the area of
infrastructure are: utility poles, high tension cables, and
transformers on the energy front, and tiles, nails, screws,
hammers and corrugated aluminum sheeting for housing repair.
5. (U) Government run clean-up efforts in the Havana area,
which was hit much less hard, have been impressive. While
Gustav barely reached tropical storm status in the city,
there were many trees down and electric lines cut. For the
most part, this damage had been cleaned up by Sunday evening,
and the city returned virtually to normal by Monday morning.
Classes for the new school year began on Tuesday after a
one-day delay. Though we are dependent on the unreliable
Cuban media for information, it appears too that there has
been a significant mobilization of resources, including units
of the armed forces (FAR) to work clean up and repair issues
outside of Havana. Interestingly, the public faces of the
GOC relief effort have been Machado Ventura and Carlos Lage,
not Raul Castro.
6. (C) Still, given things like Raul Castro's own statements
in his July 26 speech that the GOC is still working on
cleaning up after TS Noel, and the apparently much more
significant level of damage caused by Gustav, one would have
to conclude that it is unlikely the government will have
everything under control as quickly as it would like the
world to believe. USINT contacts and visa applicants from
the area reported near total devastation in the path made by
Gustav through Isla de la Juventud and Pinar del Rio. The
President of the Baptist Convention of Western Cuba said
their pastors on Isla de la Juventud reported 80 percent of
the houses of their congregations had been destroyed.
7. (C) We are not in a position to make an independent
assessment of the damages suffered, nor of the specific short
to medium term needs. Nevertheless, we believe that we
should attempt to provide support. This will be a
challenge. The GOC is unlikely to agree to any level of
support from the USG. Private U.S. donations through
reputable PVOs such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS) can and
should be encouraged. We have spoken with the local CARITAS
office here to ascertain what the priority needs are in the
short term. In the past CARITAS has provided basic household
items, bedding, etc, purchased locally to individuals.
CARITAS chief Maritza Sanchez said the most important short
term assistance we could provide would be to assist CRS to
transport its material support to Cuba. In her view, it
would be best if this assistance could be flown directly from
the U.S. to Isla de la Juventud. She said GOC authorities
had already assured her that the CRS contributions will be
allowed free entrance to the country. Sanchez also provided
us with a preliminary budget sufficient to assist about
10,000 people of between $275K and $300K.
8. (C) Observers here have noted that the GOC is usually
pretty quick to provide the basics, e.g., roofing material
and lumber, etc., but that even with a roof over their heads,
individuals struggle with the loss of all of their
possessions. The GOC does not provide help in restoring
personal possessions, and many families will need years to
get back to pre-storm lifestyles that were more than modest
to begin with. CARITAS is willing to work with us, but has
been very cautious in the past, wanting to be sure that they
cannot be accused of taking assistance from the USG, while
working closely with private US donors like CRS. The head of
the Methodist Church in Cuba likewise has indicated his
willingness to work with us while mindful of potento
repercussions.
FRRAR
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2013
TAGS: CU EAID PINR PINS PREL XL XK
SUBJECT: MGJM01: HURRICANE GUSTAV DEVASTATES WESTERN CUBA
Classified By: COM Jonathan Farrar for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (U) Through a combination of official news and contacts
with individuals in the affected regions, we can report that
it appears that Pinar del Rio province suffered severe damage
in Hurricane Gustav, and that housing and infrastructure on
the Isla de la Juventud was almost totally destroyed.
Still, according to official GOC statements, there were no
fatalities and only 19 injuries attributable to the storm.
Property damage, including damage to basic infrastructure
like bridges, docks and power transmission lines, appears to
be extensive.
2. (U) Pictures being shown on local television and in
newspapers testify to the strength of hurricane Gustav.
Houses appear to have been turned into piles of lumber,
cultivated fields of platano and other crops are leveled,
electrical transmission towers are toppled into crumpled
masses of steel as far as the eye can see, and a reinforced
concrete building in Isla de la Juventud is reduced to
rubble. The accompanying text or voice over acknowledges the
heavy damage, but focuses on the success of the government's
actions in preventing loss of life and assuring that the
losses will be recouped quickly--all thanks to the commitment
of all Cubans to the Revolution.
3. (C) Efforts to assist the GOC have already begun. Press
is reporting that 4 Russian aircraft are on their way to Cuba
with relief supplies. COM met with UNDP chief Susan McDade
(please protect) who said the UN is looking at providing at
least as much assistance as it did following Tropical Storm
Noel in November 2007 ($2.3 million). McDade noted, and the
Hungarian Ambassador later confirmed to COM, that the
European Community had agreed to provide 2 million euros in
support to all of the affected Caribbean countries. However,
both McDade and the Hungarian ambassador said they believed
the GOC would refuse the EC offer. In the past McDade has
directed UN members' bilateral offers of assistance to the
UN's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA).
4. (C) For its part, knowing that the GOC will never ask
for assistance, and will refuse assistance that does not suit
its plans, UNDP asked the GOC what type of support it would
not reject and then worked from that base. McDade said the
GOC Council of Ministers met Monday night and the GOC told
her Tuesday that its most urgent needs in the area of
infrastructure are: utility poles, high tension cables, and
transformers on the energy front, and tiles, nails, screws,
hammers and corrugated aluminum sheeting for housing repair.
5. (U) Government run clean-up efforts in the Havana area,
which was hit much less hard, have been impressive. While
Gustav barely reached tropical storm status in the city,
there were many trees down and electric lines cut. For the
most part, this damage had been cleaned up by Sunday evening,
and the city returned virtually to normal by Monday morning.
Classes for the new school year began on Tuesday after a
one-day delay. Though we are dependent on the unreliable
Cuban media for information, it appears too that there has
been a significant mobilization of resources, including units
of the armed forces (FAR) to work clean up and repair issues
outside of Havana. Interestingly, the public faces of the
GOC relief effort have been Machado Ventura and Carlos Lage,
not Raul Castro.
6. (C) Still, given things like Raul Castro's own statements
in his July 26 speech that the GOC is still working on
cleaning up after TS Noel, and the apparently much more
significant level of damage caused by Gustav, one would have
to conclude that it is unlikely the government will have
everything under control as quickly as it would like the
world to believe. USINT contacts and visa applicants from
the area reported near total devastation in the path made by
Gustav through Isla de la Juventud and Pinar del Rio. The
President of the Baptist Convention of Western Cuba said
their pastors on Isla de la Juventud reported 80 percent of
the houses of their congregations had been destroyed.
7. (C) We are not in a position to make an independent
assessment of the damages suffered, nor of the specific short
to medium term needs. Nevertheless, we believe that we
should attempt to provide support. This will be a
challenge. The GOC is unlikely to agree to any level of
support from the USG. Private U.S. donations through
reputable PVOs such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS) can and
should be encouraged. We have spoken with the local CARITAS
office here to ascertain what the priority needs are in the
short term. In the past CARITAS has provided basic household
items, bedding, etc, purchased locally to individuals.
CARITAS chief Maritza Sanchez said the most important short
term assistance we could provide would be to assist CRS to
transport its material support to Cuba. In her view, it
would be best if this assistance could be flown directly from
the U.S. to Isla de la Juventud. She said GOC authorities
had already assured her that the CRS contributions will be
allowed free entrance to the country. Sanchez also provided
us with a preliminary budget sufficient to assist about
10,000 people of between $275K and $300K.
8. (C) Observers here have noted that the GOC is usually
pretty quick to provide the basics, e.g., roofing material
and lumber, etc., but that even with a roof over their heads,
individuals struggle with the loss of all of their
possessions. The GOC does not provide help in restoring
personal possessions, and many families will need years to
get back to pre-storm lifestyles that were more than modest
to begin with. CARITAS is willing to work with us, but has
been very cautious in the past, wanting to be sure that they
cannot be accused of taking assistance from the USG, while
working closely with private US donors like CRS. The head of
the Methodist Church in Cuba likewise has indicated his
willingness to work with us while mindful of potento
repercussions.
FRRAR