Cuba
On Saturday August 30, 2008, Gustav made landfall on mainland Cuba near the community of Los Palacios in Pinar del Río—a region that produces much of the tobacco used to make the nation's famed cigars. In Los Palacios some 7,000 homes were roofless and many with their walls collapsed. The rice and banana farms sustained much damage.
At least 300,000 people were evacuated from Gustav's path as 140 mph (220 km/h) winds toppled telephone poles and fruit trees, shattered windows and tore off the tin roofs of homes. Cuban authorities declared that Gustav is the worst hurricane to hit the country in 50 years. Authorities called the storm damage the worst since 1956. The 211 mph (341 km/h) wind gusts registered in the city of Paso Real de San Diego were the highest in Cuba's history, according to the provincial newspaper, the Guerrillero. Winds were so strong that the weather station instruments broke. Gustav is considered Cuba's worst hurricane in 45 years, the last hurricane that was worse than Gustav for Cuba was Hurricane Flora in 1963, which was the deadliest Cuban storm since the 1932 Cuba Hurricane.
Cuban Civil defense authorities initially stated that there were "many people injured" on Isla de la Juventud, an island of 87,000 people south of the mainland. Nearly all the island's roads were washed out and some regions were heavily flooded. No fatalities have been reported in Cuba, despite the extreme damage.
By September 3, Cuba's President Raul Castro said that 20,000 of the 25,000 houses on Isla de la Juventud were damaged. More than 90,000 homes were damaged in the western province of Pinar del Río according to government news agency AIN. 3,306 tobacco houses were destroyed, with 906 tons of tobacco leaves wet. More than 32,000 acres (130 km2) of crops were ruined, including 7,239 acres (29.30 km2) of grain and nearly 1,500 of fruit. 42,000 cans of coffee were destroyed, and 3,100 tons of grapefruit lost. 930,000 chickens had to be euthanized.
According to Pinar del Río civil defense authorities, 86,000 homes were damaged, 80 electric towers and 600 electric posts fell. Cuba's electric company, indicated that a total of 136 electric towers toppled over and that the electrical grid on Isla de la Juventud was 100% damaged. In all, damage from Hurricane Gustav totaled $2.1 billion in Cuba.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Gustav, Impact
Famous quotes containing the word cuba:
“Bernstein: “Girls delightful in Cuba stop. Could send you prose poems about scenery but don’t feel right spending your money stop. There is no war in Cuba. Signed Wheeler.” Any answer?
Charles Foster Kane: Yes—Dear Wheeler, You provide the prose poems, I’ll provide the war.”
—Orson Welles (1915–1985)
“Education is a necessity, it helps to understand life. Like that compagnero in Cuba who talked about politics, back when they were on strike. He knew many things, that hijo de puta, and he unraveled the most confusing situations in a marvelous way. You could see each point in front of you on the line of his reasoning like rinsed laundry set up to dry; he explained things to you so clearly that you could grasp it like a good hunk of bread with your hand.”
—Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)
“Warmest climes but nurse the cruelest fangs: the tiger of Bengal crouches in spiced groves of ceaseless verdure. Skies the most effulgent but basket the deadliest thunders: gorgeous Cuba knows tornadoes that never swept tame northern lands.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)