However, it has weakened to a tropical storm as it moves toward east-central Florida in the morning, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Nicole became the latest hurricane to hit Florida’s Atlantic coast in a calendar year, breaking the November 4 record set by Hurricane Yankee in 1935.

It is also the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States during November in nearly 40 years.

The US National Weather Center forecasts that the system should weaken to a depression on Friday before becoming a tropical cyclone over the southeastern US.

Experts expect Nicole to move through central and northern Florida into southern Georgia, arriving in the Carolinas on Friday.

In Florida, access to several bridges linking the mainland to the state’s barrier islands has been cut off.

Coastal roads such as Indian River Drive had previously been blocked after waves began breaking against the seawall.

(With information from Euronews and CNN in Spanish)

Upon arrival he found an open-air facility. More than 90% of the roofs of warehouses, production areas and other premises had blown up, but its workers, the desire to recover and the sense of belonging never went away. About 20 days later, when we arrived at the place, these were the testimonies that received us.

The night-early morning from September 26 to 27 will be unforgettable for Jesús González Arronte, one of the two directors of UEB that La Conchita has, who shows us in photos the disaster on the roofs, windows and doors of the factory. “The next day we started the recovery and in less than 10 days we were already producing, although we still have things to restore, especially roofs.”

The manager highlighted the high sense of belonging of the workers, despite the fact that more than half of the workforce had damage to their homes. “We are helping many of them and we have even sold them coal, eggs and some resources,” he says, which is confirmed by Raidel Crespo, one of those most affected by Ian’s impact. “I didn’t think they were going to help people so quickly. That speaks very well of real solidarity.”
“No one was summoned here to deal with the destruction. More than 100 colleagues showed up. That showed the love of the workers for their center, because we know the economic importance we have for the province and the country”, says Aracelys Ajete, general secretary of the union bureau, with optimism.

“Thanks to that, several production lines are already working. With our own strength we erected new roofs, collected fallen trees and cleaned the areas”, explains the veteran trade unionist who treasures 33 years of work in La Conchita in her body and spirit. “I remember other natural phenomena like Gustav, but I had never experienced something like this. Ian was devastating, but we will get up. Even a group of us went to La Coloma to help”.

United in life, and in business!
Yunia Castro has been in this factory for 13 years and suffered damage to her home, and even so, she returned to her workplace knowing the importance of resuming production, since not only Pinar del Río benefits, but also Artemisa, Mayabeque, Havana and other provinces.

“This situation has been difficult. Working hard at home and at the workplace is complicated, but there is no other option but to push forward, ”she says. “Ian affected my roof, however, La Conchita is like my house, that’s why I joined. This is where my salary comes from, the sustenance of my children, ”she confessed.

Yunia highlighted the interest of some of her managers and colleagues in helping her solve her damage. “Here we are a big family, we help each other and that is worth a lot”, she certified while she with a couple of screams, due to the intense noise of the production, she called her husband.

“I’m Martínez Álvarez, Director of Maintenance,” she said, although we barely heard him over the whistling of the equipment. “I can’t move from here now. The cyclone hit the company hard, although thanks to everyone’s efforts we have come out ahead. We have set foot on the ground because we have to produce, it cannot be stopped”.

Another veteran in these parts is Julio César de la Vega. He is from Havana, but he fell in love with a Pinar del Rio woman and has been in La Conchita for 36 years, now as head of the laboratory. “Here there were doors that the hurricane took with the frame and everything. We prepare because we have a cyclone culture. For example, sugar is collected days in advance, many raw materials are packed in tanks with lids and even then they are covered with canvas.

“The equipment is intact. The technology is not very modern, but we take care of it. Vinegar, compote for children and vitanova are being produced in this same workshop”, she informs as if he were wasting time joining his work.

“The secret of quality is putting love into it and counting on the good technologists and teachers we have,” acknowledges Julio César, who could not escape the baseball controversy because he is a fervent industrialist.

Before leaving and after touring the almost complete factory, we return to the dialogue with González Arronte. “The production plans will not be affected, only that it will force us to work more in double shifts, and of course our recovery is vital, because we produce food for the population. And now more are needed.”
One final idea we take from this group. “The idea is that the factory will be better when we finish the recovery”, emphasizes Arronte. “We put the cultural detail of the installation,” says Aracelys Ajete. “Journalist, this factory is emblematic, nobody stops us,” concludes Raymand, one of the many Pinar del Rio residents who will never forget the night his son asked him to sit at the door so that Ian would not enter his house.

( By: Joel Garcia, Daniel Martinez Rodriguez/ from Workers)

Well chosen musical greeting to the Day of Cuban Culture. And also the celebration of the date by artists and intellectuals, who did not go to a theater to celebrate themselves. They walk through the towns of Pinar del Río where Ian’s winds took away the roofs and the souls of many people.

Reinier Duardo accompanied his greeting to the Cuban artists and intellectuals, with a praise for that work of love for the people that embodies with deeds, the ideas of the recent message to the colleagues of the world, which has already accumulated more than one thousand one hundred adhesions and that has annoyed the haters.

He reminded the analyst how much they have done to separate the artists from the revolutionary project. And, they have managed to buy several, but, in the midst of the difficult situation that Cuba is experiencing, here are the big ones, what is worth and shines with its own light. And they are defending the Revolution with their art and with their signature.

At her time, Bárbara Betancourt meant that there are not only writers and artists. In fact, the message was made public by intellectuals in the broadest concept of the term: relevant educators and scientists from all specialties. A very brief, but very forceful message, which recognizes the enormous sacrifices imposed on us by shortages and blackouts, which even speaks of mistakes, but ratifies the defense of the nation. She also goes against the haters and the haters and quoted:

“We condemn hate speech, defamation, distortions of our reality, and we hope that truthful information reaches those who follow events with good will and honestly care about this country. With our contribution, school activities begin, the tireless struggle of science, life in the communities is revived, cultural programming available to all is restarted and the truth of Cuba is defended”.

In a certain way, the declaration includes the courageous position of Cuban emigrants such as those from Puentes de amor or the NEMO movement, who against all odds, against attacks of all kinds, are fighting within the United States to fully lift the blockade. In a direct half-hour the night before, Carlos Lazo reacted emotionally to Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez’s announcement that the United States had donated 2 million USD and 100 firefighting suits, of which 43 arrived. His reaction provoked a strong debate in the networks, of many people outraged by the squalid aid from the country that has imposed a blockade on us that already costs us more than a million million and is capable of giving more than 3 billion million in one stroke just for weapons, destined to sustain the war in Ukraine.

This episode contrasts with the quick and generous reaction of Mexico, Venezuela and other friendly countries, which both in the Matanzas accident and now due to the damage caused by Hurricane Ian, extended their hands and their help to Cuba. Given this generosity, the blockade stands out more with its charge of abuse against an entire people. The Cuban Foreign Minister summed it up masterfully: “The blockade is the permanent pandemic, the constant hurricane.”

A very novel approach that, precisely from that very small but unexpected donation, makes more visible, shows with facts, the criminal extent of the damage caused by the blockade.

A synthetic and exact explanation of what it means to keep on the list of sponsors of terrorism those of us who are, several times, victims of terrorism. A transparent exhibition that dismantled manipulations, like the one they use so much on the North American products that our stores sell. The issue is not only from whom they are bought, it is what they are bought with, if we do not have fresh credits, if the financial persecution is surgical, hitting where it most affects the Cuban economy.

The presentation of the blockade report is thus part of the best tradition of Cuban diplomacy. The truth told without offense, without bombast. A blockade of more than 60 years was exposed in a few minutes with the essential arguments. Compared to the two million of the donation, the gross numbers of everything that the North American government has taken from us and harms us, acquires its genocidal dimension in a more exact way.

It had to be said and it was said on a day of such significance, since Perucho Figueredo wrote on the back of his horse the Hymn of Bayamo, our Marsellesa, our Bayamesa, the song of Cuban culture that is a school of creativity and beauty in the resistance, with the unquestionable verse that even today marks our collective fate: To die for the country is to live.

(By: Arleen Rodríguez Derivet)

On his account on the social network Twitter he wrote: “We appreciate the offer of humanitarian aid from the US. The material contribution valued at 2 million USD through the International Federation of the Red Cross will contribute to our recovery efforts and support to those affected by the ravages of Hurricane Ian”.

We appreciate the US offer of humanitarian aid. The material contribution valued at 2 million USD through the International Federation of the Red Cross will contribute to our recovery efforts and support to those affected by the ravages of #HurricaneIan.

– Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) October 18, 2022

In a press release published on the website of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is planned that this contribution will contribute to the enormous recovery and reconstruction efforts carried out by the national authorities together with the people.

He adds that “Cuba has received and appreciates the material support and solidarity of various governments and international organizations and other countries in the face of the immense material damage caused by the hurricane and the hard task of recovery.”

(Cuba minrex)

As in a battlefield, all the possible forces available to the country move, and they are assigned to the places hardest hit by the hurricane gusts. Each decision – whether it is a strategic plan, or a more tactical orientation – is permanently evaluated by the country’s leadership in check-ups such as the one that took place this Tuesday afternoon, from the Palace of the Revolution, and which was headed by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.

The province of Pinar del Río, the most damaged by the meteor, had the largest number of analyzes in a meeting that also included Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz from the presidency; and with the Vice President of the Republic, Salvador Valdés Mesa. Both of them; members of the Political Bureau.

As reported via video-conference by the first secretary of the Communist Party in Pinar del Río, Yamilé Ramos Cordero, 5,244 people are currently evacuated from the territory. And in relation to the recovery of the electrical service, she explained that the figure already reaches 57.41%.

On this last front, when breaking down data, Yamilé Ramos Cordero said that the municipality of Mantua is at 100%; Sandino’s at 98; the Palaces, at 96.84. According to their part shared during the check, the lowest levels are located in San Juan and Martínez (with 24.82); in San Luis (with 27.15); and in Consolación del Sur (42.74).

The party leader explained that the forces have been reorganizing, to send most of them to the most needy places. She also emphasized the importance of the population joining the restorative tasks in each area, because that will make people feel closer to the solution of their problems.

Regarding the water service, Ramos Cordero said: “We maintain stability in the drivers of the city. The inlet pressure of water to the towns, to whom it corresponds according to the distribution cycle, is higher; and a decrease in the cycles is already being appreciated, although the areas that do not receive (the vital liquid) through networks continue to be a difficulty.

As she explained, the distribution of water in pipes is maintained –97 are being used–; and “control, organization, and rigor are maintained, but we still haven’t been able to reach the entire population with the necessary periodicity.”

Of food and its continuous distribution; of the decisions that are made to reach all families; of the food that continues to be made and sold in the areas that need it most; The first secretary of the Party in the western province spoke of the more than 300 collective kitchens; And she also gave an update on how the agricultural system is, where there is a battle to recover flowerbeds from urban agriculture, and the mobilizations of workers and companies and entities in the territory are maintained.

The tobacco campaign, the efforts being made to transfer this precious product to other factories on the island, and to recover all that is possible and that was damaged by the hurricane, were also topics that made up the dissertation of the party leader, who , regarding the housing fund, reported that today the province has 106,128 homes affected, and 13,213 total landslides.

Visiting each family is on the agenda of the authorities of the territory, affirmed Yamilé Ramos Cordero. And when adding details, she stated that 3,872 families have already bought construction materials, while another 3,800 have the form ready with which they can acquire what they need.

“We have construction materials in all the municipalities,” said the leader, who said that 203 bank loans have already been granted, and 280 subsidies to build homes in Pinar del Río.

Work continues, added Ramos Cordero, on educational, health, culture and sports facilities. And as for communications, she informed the country’s leadership: “We already have one hundred percent of the telephony

(Presidency Press)

This mobile team will be transferred to Pinar del Río to meet the urgent water and sanitation needs of the population most affected by the passage of Hurricane Ian and will allow the country’s authorities to move it to carry up to 15,000 liters of treated water per day to the communities that need it most. This will facilitate access to safe water on a regular basis for many families.

The plant, which also has a kit of materials to promote hygiene habits and to meet the most urgent sanitation needs, was channeled in coordination with the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX) and the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources. (INRH).

Regarding this important contribution, Consuelo Vidal, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System, expressed:

“The United Nations System will continue to redouble actions to help and reinforce the efforts of the Government of Cuba in the response to the emergency of Hurricane Ian and in recovery actions to improve the living conditions of the affected people, in particular, of the most vulnerable.”

This long-term, sustainable solution – the plant has a useful life of 20 years – supports the recovery efforts of affected communities and improves the country’s resilience to natural disasters.

About 3.2 million people in the provinces of Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Havana and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud were affected by the severe impact of Hurricane Ian in the western region of Cuba.
It is estimated that one million people need support. Nearly 636,218 children and adolescents from zero to 18 years of age live in the affected provinces, of which 223,000 reside in the most vulnerable municipalities.
47,000 people still do not have access to drinking water in Pinar del Río and in most of the places where the service is provided it is done by means of tanker trucks.
The United Nations System in Cuba supports recovery efforts with interventions in the sectors of Water, Hygiene and Sanitation, Education, Food Security, Housing and Health.

(Taken from Unicef)

These events were related to the burning of facilities, the execution of acts of vandalism, the closure of public roads in order to prevent the movement of vehicles and people, the attacks and offenses against officials and law enforcement, and the incitement to violence. .

Likewise, prevention actions are carried out with parents who used minor children, placing them in risk scenarios, neglecting their duties of protection, assistance, education and care towards them.

The facts under investigation will receive the corresponding criminal legal response. The accused are guaranteed respect for the constitutional rights and guarantees of due process.

The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, by mandate of article 156 of the Constitution, has as its fundamental mission to exercise control of criminal investigation and the exercise of public criminal action on behalf of the State, as well as to ensure strict compliance with the Constitution. , the laws and other legal provisions by the organs of the State, the entities and by the citizens.

Within the framework of legality, the protection of the interests of the State and the rights of all citizens, the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic will continue to act in accordance with its constitutional mandate.

GENERAL PROSECUTOR OF THE REPUBLIC

Local authorities have been showered with criticism for not insisting on the evacuation plan. Building rooftops are surrounded by flood waters along the Peace River in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Arcadia, Florida, on October 3, 2022.

Most of these deaths have been due to drowning or cardiac arrest, and the number is expected to increase in the coming hours and days, according to the authorities of this state during a press conference led by the director of the Emergency Management Division. of Florida, Kevin Guthrie.

President Biden has said it “could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history.”

Since last week, more than 6,000 people have been rescued across the state, especially in the Southwest, ground zero after Ian hit, and downtown, where many homes were flooded.

Joe Biden is expected to visit Florida on Wednesday after being in Puerto Rico on Monday.

His first visit to Puerto Rico as president lasted only three hours and was focused on inspecting the damage caused by the recent Hurricane Fiona and showing his “commitment” to the island, which he feels does not receive the necessary support from Washington or that this he comes late.

Biden promised an aid package valued at 60 million dollars and promised to support the island so that it is “better prepared” for future hurricanes.

In Florida, 95% of subscribers have already recovered electricity service, five days after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cayo Costa, in the southwest of the state, with winds of 240 km / h that caused catastrophic damage, he assured this Monday Governor Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis said at a press conference in Cape Coral, in Lee County, one of the areas most affected by the hurricane, that only 5% of subscribers in the state remain without electricity.

The recovery of the service, however, is very uneven, since in some areas of the west coast about half of the population still remains without electricity, while other areas, such as the southeast, practically did not suffer the impact of the hurricane.

At least half of the deaths have been reported in Lee County, where Ian made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane.

(With information from Euronews and BBC)

On Twitter, the president reported that “Today we will be on the Isle of Youth, another of the territories affected by #HurricaneIan. The recovery there is progressing rapidly. Much of its electrical service and communications are restored. We have to work hard to rebuild the houses.”

Crocodile is the first place that the president visits during his visit to Isla de la Juventud.

The constituency delegate, Evelio Lavadié Mompellier, informed the press that the town has 346 inhabitants and 122 families, and that there were total and partial roof collapses in the area.

During the tour, the top leaders of the local Party and Government explained to the president how the Island prepared to face Hurricane Ian, its passage, the impacts and the recovery.

The local authorities informed the first secretary of the Central Committee of the PCC that the electrical and communications services have already been reestablished in the Isle of Youth.

Díaz-Canel commented that hard work has been done in the special municipality.

The president also exchanged with workers from the Caleta Grande fishing cooperative.

Last Wednesday, from car to car, from stretch to stretch, we traveled about a hundred and fifty kilometers and reached Pinar del Río. Destruction, pain in people’s faces, fallen trees, houses without roofs, others on the ground. A bleak scene.

After talking with the first interviewee, the one who only had a roof fall off a terrace and her chest tightened when she assured us that she was not compared to others who had lost everything, there, just at that moment, something in us changed. .

We didn’t want to write but she had us travel the province, go to the most intricate places, feel the stories, try to tell them in the most reliable way possible. Without electricity or water, staying to sleep wherever the night took us, working mornings and afternoons in the provincial telecentre, but knowing that that was where we should be, and that despite everything, when we returned to Havana we had a roof over our heads, and that thousands in that land of good people had lost absolutely everything.

We didn’t want to write, but we did. There go the stories.

Walking along a road that is difficult to access, you reach “La Loma de la Candela”, the popular name of the first street at the end of the Diez de Octubre district, in the city of Pinar del Río. Cars cannot pass through the area, it is impossible, the road is in terrible condition.

In the surroundings of the highway there are simple houses, most of them made of wood, whose owners live as a family and that is how they passed Hurricane Ian.

Hopeful they say that the survey of the damages has already been done and that the area is included in a project that contemplates the total repair of the streets, the houses that are a few meters from them and public lighting. “Perhaps with Ian the process will be accelerated,” some say.

***
Testimonies from Loma de la Candela

Yusniel Norbel Valdés. Photo: Cubadebate.

“The three of us spent the cyclone together in the shop window”
On the night of September 27, Yadielis Madera and Yusniel Norbel Valdés sent their children Tania and Yudiel Alejandro to Yusniel’s mother’s house. “Because it is stronger. My wife and I stayed here to secure the roof,” says Yusniel, a 39-year-old turnboy.

On top of the roof they put some sacks, but as soon as the wind began to blow strongly, the first fiber of the front of the portal was lifted. And that’s where the never-ending battle began.

“I tried to hang on to pull it out, but I couldn’t and they all went away. We had to get inside the window to get past the cyclone.”

At 3:30 in the morning, from their temporary shelter they felt their door being pushed. “It was Reinier Pérez, one of the neighbors, asking for help.”

Reinier had fled from his wooden house. He was afraid that a tree would fall on the house. He went into the window with Yadielis and Yusniel. They had a bad time together.

Yadielis and Yusniel say that some windows became loose, others fell. The walls behind the kitchen cracked, the ones in the corners. Everything got wet: the mattress, the children’s notebooks, the equipment. During these days they continue giving things sun, “let’s see if we can recover them”.

Yadielis remembers that they spent the night watching how the zincs flew through the air, “with the fear that instead of doing it from the outside, they would go inside and catch us. It was the saddest night of my life.”

Her husband insists that he knows that everyone is affected, “but we have two small children and the roof gets completely wet. I had to look for the fibers in the streams and put them patched up, full of holes, to see if one day they help me with the fibers, or two bags of cement. What the State can”.

Reinier, Yadielis and Yusniel.Photo: Cubadebate.

“I had to run away, because otherwise the house would fall on top of me”
With Reinier we also talked. When I left desperately around 3:30 a.m., because some segments had already fallen from the bush next to my house, I called Yusniel and the three of us went inside the shop window to wait for the thing to finish. As soon as I left, the bush fell on my house. If I managed to stay in there, I wouldn’t be doing the story right now”, he expresses with determination.

For Reinier, who graduated in Physical Education 22 years ago, Ian’s attacks broke the television, the refrigerator, the ceiling lamps… The mattresses were soaked in water.

“Here is my little house,” he says and points to what was left of his house. “This is what I have been able to achieve on my own, and now I have backed off with the hurricane. What is needed for the Revolution to help me make a ‘quimbito’, as the good Cuban says. I ask for nothing more.”

(By Angélica Arce Montero, Thalía Fuentes Puebla/ Cubadebate)