In Cuba, the exact terms for the complete restoration of the hotel infrastructure were announced. Hurricane Irma hits Cuba

The devastating hurricane Irma, which has already devastated the territory of several Caribbean countries, hit Cuba on Saturday.

TV channels show how multi-meter waves flood the legendary Malecon in Havana, a favorite place for walking residents of the capital and foreign tourists, eight kilometers long. Electricity was cut off in some parts of Havana and drinking water, there were interruptions in communication. Until noon on Sunday local time (17:00 Moscow time), the Jose Marti International Airport, through which most foreign tourists arrive in Cuba, is closed.

However, experts say, the "eye" of "Irma" did not reach the capital itself, inflicting the main blow 200 kilometers from it. Wind gusts in Camagüey province reached 260 km/h.

As noted by AFP, Irma is the first hurricane of this magnitude since 1932, which directly affected the territory of Cuba. Seven-meter waves were recorded on the northern coast of Cuba by the local meteorological service, and residents of Havana received an "alert" about the danger of flooding.

In total, about two million people in Cuba were forced to leave their homes. “Given the inevitability of Irma, every minute was precious,” she wrote in her editorial. main newspaper Granma cubes. The hurricane caused the most severe damage in Saint Lucia in the province of Camaguey. Waves several meters high caused significant damage to houses and tourist sites, notes cadenagramonte.cu.

There was no information about possible casualties and damage from Cuba.

Cuba, since the days of Fidel Castro, has one of the best warning and evacuation systems in the world in the event of natural disasters and is well prepared for natural disasters. However, each new hurricane is a painful blow to the Cuban economy, which is living under an unprecedented US blockade, which, by the way, was extended by President Trump on Friday for another year.

Meanwhile, the US Hurricane Center (NCA), in a bulletin released Saturday night, noted that "Irma's eye is beginning to slowly move off the coast of Cuba, resulting in a sharp deterioration in the weather in South Florida." In the southeastern United States, "several hundred kilometers of coastline are expected to be flooded due to the action of a potentially deadly storm," the US National Weather Service (NWS) warned in turn.

The inhabitants of this "sunny" american state, where about 20 million people live, fled their homes in panic. As noted by AFP, citing meteorologists, "Irma" will reach the southeast coast of the United States on Sunday with wind gusts of 240 kilometers per hour and could cause massive flooding.

Local authorities are warning that "there is no longer a place where people can be safe" in the Florida Keys, a popular tourist destination in southern Florida. Here, according to official estimates, about a million people have already been evacuated from the coastal zone, but the number of people who hastily left their homes could be much higher. In total, about 6.3 million people were evacuated from their homes in the state as of Saturday evening - that is, one in three residents of Florida.

Home to a sizable Cuban expat community - more than a million people who fled Liberty Island - Miami is mostly low-income people, observers estimate. Those who have not yet been evacuated are either looking for places in shelters, or trying to somehow protect their miserable homes with boards. "The roofs from the houses will fly in any case, these houses are rotten through and through," Pedro Marti, a refugee from Cuba, admitted. In an interview, he called the defense of his plywood plank home "ridiculous."

Meanwhile, the streets of Miami, this "lazy and idle" city, have become unusually deserted. Beaches without vacationers, deserted streets and empty skyscrapers - Miami Beach overnight became a "ghost town". The mayor of this famous resort town, Phil Levin, called the Irma "a nuclear hurricane ... so powerful and so vast."

The US authorities, who earlier declared a state of emergency in the states of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, decided to introduce it also in Virginia, believing that Irma could reach the northeast coast of the country. "This is a storm of immense destructive power, and I ask all those in the path of the storm to follow all instructions from government officials," Donald Trump tweeted. He spent the weekend at the presidential residence at Camp David, where he monitored the effects of Hurricane Harvey two weeks ago.

Recall that in order to help local authorities, the US Navy announced the dispatch from the port of Norfolk, Virginia, the aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln", two landing vehicles and another ship. These four ships, carrying 300 people and 27 helicopters, should provide assistance if necessary. medical care, logistical assistance and safety for people affected by Hurricane Irma, the US Navy said in a statement.

Recall that "Irma" has become one of the most destructive hurricanes in the world for at least the last decade. Its deadly effect has been going on for almost five days. At the same time, the hurricane hit the inhabitants of the poor countries of the Caribbean, who already live in extremely difficult conditions.

In total, according to official estimates, Hurricane Irma claimed the lives of 25 people (10 in the French part and two in the Dutch part of St. Maarten, four in the US Virgin Islands, six in the British part Virgin Islands and the Anguilla archipelago, two in Puerto Rico, one in Barbuda). The number of casualties could increase significantly as the rubble is cleared. It is known that, for example, on the island of Barbuda, at least 80 percent of the buildings were destroyed.

Confusion, confusion and tension reign, according to observers, among the inhabitants of the island of St. Maarten five days after the passage of the Irma. In the city of Mary, the capital of the French part of Saint-Martin, fragments of torn roofs, numerous garbage, various household waste. Many surviving houses, including cottage buildings where tourists live, were flooded. The chaos is being exploited by looters who have rushed into stores to steal refrigerators and televisions.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that Hurricane Jose is moving to replace the destructive Irma in this part of the Caribbean, which has intensified to the fourth category, with wind gusts up to 240 kilometers per hour. And its main blow will fall on the islands of St. Maarten and St. Barthelemy, whose inhabitants have not yet recovered from the shock.

MOSCOW. SEPTEMBER 15TH. INTERFAX-TOURISM - Tourists in Cuba had to be relocated from hotels affected by Hurricane Irma, the infrastructure of the resorts of Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo was most destroyed, there are no completely destroyed hotels in Havana and Varadero, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) reports on Friday.

"Most tour operators reported the forced relocation of tourists from the most damaged hotels to others. Cancellations in Cuba are still isolated," ATOR said.

Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo were hit hardest by Hurricane Irma in Cuba. Tour operators who put their charters to Cuba planned to start flight programs in Cayo Coco from October. The tour operator Pegas Touristik has not yet changed plans for Cayo Coco and will resolve the issue as the situation normalizes.

The tour operator Anex Tour does not plan to fly to Cayo Coco yet, arguing that a number of the island's hotels cannot be restored at all, and the rest can be restored no earlier than in one or two months. Tourists who have already purchased tours to Cayo Coco from the tour operator are offered to change the direction, in particular, to the Dominican Republic. According to the tour operator ICS Travel Group, Cubans plan to restore hotels on the islands by November.

According to ATOR, the situation in Havana and Varadero is much better. In the resort of Varadero, some hotels have broken windows, broken verandas, fallen trees, and electrical damage. The host companies promise that everything will be fixed within two weeks. The beach strip of Varadero has been badly damaged and now they are clearing debris and installing new umbrellas. According to the Ministry of Tourism of Cuba, in the regions of Holguin, Baracoa, Camaguey, Trinidad, and Santiago de Cuba, the tourism infrastructure is functioning normally.

As specified in the message, in Varadero, all hotels of the Melia chain are open and operate as normal, with the exception of the Paradisus Varadero, Melia Peninsula Varadero and Royal Service Paradisus Prinncesa del Mar hotels. Of the most serious damage, damage to the dome of the Meliá Varadero hotel is noted. They promise to fix it within a month.

Hotel holding Iberostar announced that almost all hotels in Varadero and Havana have returned to normal operation. Currently, only Iberostar Alameda and Habana Riviera by Iberostar are closed for emergency repairs.

Hurricane Irma formed in the Atlantic Ocean last week became the hurricane that for the longest time retained the highest - fifth - power category on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Rostourism on Wednesday reported serious destruction of the tourist infrastructure to Cuba as a result of the passage of the Irma.

A meeting was held at the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Moscow with a representative of the Island's Ministry of Tourism, Advisor to the Diplomatic Mission on Tourism Edilberto Riverón Leon. The specialist spoke about the situation in the republic after the most powerful hurricane Irma and answered the questions of the observer of the International Affairs. His main conclusion: Cuba is ready to receive tourists from Russia

... Cuba survived the most devastating hurricane Irma in decades, said Edilberto Riveron. A natural disaster swept through the countries of the Caribbean region like a powerful roller, destroying many cities and even entire island states. A hurricane raged in Cuba for several days. On a number of islands of the Cuban archipelago, the entire tourist infrastructure was damaged by the hurricane, hotels, houses and outbuildings were washed away by monstrous sea waves. Huge casualties were avoided only thanks to a well-organized scheme of work of the Civil Defense Forces of the Island, which in a short time evacuated more than a million Cuban citizens and foreign tourists from dangerous coastal zones. But still, it was not possible to completely avoid human casualties: according to preliminary data from the National Civil Defense Headquarters, in Cuba, the hurricane claimed the lives of 10 people. And that is mainly due to non-compliance with security measures.

Hurricane Irma destroyed or damaged hundreds of tourism facilities, Agriculture, dwellings and communications. So, the hurricane damaged more than 1400 educational institutions, 500 of them - in Havana. Many courtyards and streets of the capital have simply become part of the sea. In cities and towns, blockages from fallen trees formed. The world-famous resort of Varadero and other tourism areas were also badly damaged by the hurricane. The total damage caused to Cuba by Irma, due to its volume, has not yet been determined.

As Edilberto Riveron noted, Cuban President Raul Castro, through local media, appealed to the citizens of the republic with an appeal to roll up their sleeves and restore their country as soon as possible. The head of the republic, in particular, said: “Hurricane Irma, with its destructive power, raged over our island for more than three days, from the morning of September 8 to noon on Sunday, September 10. The wind force exceeded 250 kilometers per hour, the hurricane passed through the north of the country from the city of Baracoa, which suffered from another similar cataclysm almost a year ago, to the outskirts of Cardenas in the province of Matanzas. However, due to the immensity of the size and power of the hurricane, almost no part of Cuban territory escaped its consequences. Difficult days are lived by our people, who in just a few hours saw how the hurricane destroyed what they had created. The shots of the last hours are eloquent, as is the spirit of resistance and victory of our people, which is reborn after every misfortune.

There will be a lot of work in the coming days. And once again the strength of the Cubans and the unshakable confidence in their Revolution will be demonstrated. This is not a time to mourn, but a time to rebuild what the winds of Hurricane Irma tried to destroy.

As always, every time a weather phenomenon strikes us, we receive many displays of solidarity from all over the world. Heads of states and governments, political organizations and friends from solidarity movements expressed their willingness to help us, and we thank them on behalf of more than 11 million Cubans,” said our leader, General of the Army Raul Castro, quoting Cuban leader E. Riveron.

“Immediately after Hurricane Irma, Cuba began intensive reconstruction work National economy and dwellings in disaster-hit provinces, the tourism advisor said. - Repair activities are proceeding at a rapid pace at tourism and agricultural facilities, the inhabitants of Cuba are unanimously clearing the streets of cities, repairing damaged homes.

We are grateful to all states for their support, solidarity and confidence in repairing the damage caused by Hurricane Irma in several Cuban cities and tourist destinations,” said Riveron.

Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero told the media that despite the damage caused by Hurricane Irma, the tourism sector is intensively preparing for high season. In accordance with the standards, each hotel facility will be brought to excellent condition. For this, there are countries all the necessary resources.

Our Minister also suggests that instead of Cayo Coco and Santa Maria, the two destinations most affected by the hurricane, tourists should consider other resorts that Cuba has in abundance, such as Holguin, unaffected by the hurricane, or the picturesque island of Cayo Largo. There are no catastrophic damages in the hotels in Cuba, most of them are operating normally. Many hotels in Varadero are open or will soon be open.

In Varadero hotels, glass windows, light wall panels and ceilings were mostly affected. Also, damage was done to the landscape of the territories of some hotels. 70% of hotels operate continuously.

The airports of Havana and Varadero are already operating and receive flights from all countries. Aeroflot has been flying regularly to Havana since September 12th. Tourism infrastructure in the unaffected regions of Holguin, Baracoa, Camagüey, Trinidad Santiago de Cuba is functioning normally. To date, 87% of the water supply has been restored in Cuba. This means that more than 7 million people have access to safe drinking water.

The national power system is also already in operation, allowing almost all hotels and hospitals in Havana to connect to the national grid. Let me emphasize that 222 out of 302 electrical circuits in Havana have been restored very quickly and work well. The educational process throughout the country continues, and Cuba is gradually returning to a normal rhythm of life, said Edilberto Riveron. He also urged Russian tourists not to be afraid to go to Cuba, since the vast majority of the infrastructure of the hospitality industry has already been restored and is functioning normally.”

At the same time, Edilberto Riveron said that this year Cuba has already (from January to September) received more than 70 thousand guests from Russia, which is 110% compared to 2016 (65,400 people). “Although it is too early to make forecasts for the whole of 2017, we assume that we will be able to achieve a record figure by accepting 100,000 Russian tourists by January 1, 2018,” concluded Edilberto Riveron. “Cuba is ready to receive Russians”!..

HAVANA, 11 September. /Corr. TASS Andrey Bekrenev/. The devastating hurricane Irma is already raging over Florida, but the severe flooding it caused continues in the Cuban capital.

The famous Havana's Malecon promenade and many streets along coastline. According to meteorologists, waves up to 11 meters high hit the city on Saturday, water penetrated deeper into Havana for more than half a kilometer.

"TASS/Ruptly/Reuters/CCTV"

In some areas, such as central Vedado, people move waist-deep or even chest-deep in water. Cars, furniture, fragments of the roof are floating along the streets. Some Havanese move around the city in makeshift boats.

"I have lived in Havana all my life, but this is the first time I see this. After heavy rains We often have flooding, but this kind of flood has never happened. In some areas, the first floors of houses are completely flooded," a resident of Vedado told a TASS correspondent.

The city is de-energized

Most of the city has been de-energized for more than a day. The Chairman of the State Council and the Council of Ministers of Cuba, Raul Castro, ordered that all forces be thrown into the restoration of broken power lines.

The epicenter of the hurricane did not approach the Cuban capital closer than 200 km, but in the city of two million, located on the coast Atlantic Ocean, all Saturday a squally wind was blowing, it was raining heavily.

Many buildings on the embankment were damaged, including hotels and the US Embassy. In many places where the water has already receded, it is impossible to pass by car due to broken trees blocking the road.

In connection with weather conditions international Airport José Marti Havana will be closed until 12 noon (19:00 Moscow time) on September 11. Aeroflot's Sunday flight from Moscow to Havana and back was cancelled.

Large-scale evacuation

Residents and authorities of the Cuban capital a few days before the approach of "Irma" began to take serious precautions. Public utilities cleared storm drains, trimmed tree limbs, covered the windows of the buildings on the Malecon with plywood sheets, and reinforced the buildings with sandbags.

About 10 thousand people were evacuated from coastal areas to safe places. Currently, reinforced police squads are on duty on the streets of the city to prevent looting. Not all evacuees have yet been able to return to their homes.

Destruction at the resorts

Irma, which raged in Cuba for two days, caused serious damage to the tourist infrastructure on the famous resort islands of Cayo Coco and Cayo Santa Maria, located off the northern coast of the country. Apparently, some hotels there will have to be rebuilt almost anew. The airport serving these islands is almost completely destroyed.

All tourists, including Russian ones, were evacuated from the resorts in advance. According to the Russian embassy in Cuba, the Russians were not injured during the passage of the Irma.

The popular resort of Varadero, located 140 km east of Havana, was also flooded. However, there is much less destruction and many vacationers have already returned to the beaches.

No casualties, damage counted

The elements caused very serious damage to the island state, the amount of which has yet to be calculated. But thanks to the measures that were taken in the country before the arrival of the hurricane, the victims, according to preliminary data, were avoided.

Due to the approach of "Irma" in Cuba were evacuated to total over a million people. The civil defense forces have equipped in many settlements special shelters with supplies of water, food and medicine for several days.

According to the authorities, "Irma" caused serious damage to crops in the central part of the country, in particular, plantings of sugar cane, bananas and tobacco.

Before arriving in Cuba, Irma raged for several days in the Caribbean, causing great damage to Puerto Rico, as well as the islands owned by Britain, the Netherlands and France. According to the latest data, at least 24 people died in the Caribbean as a result of the passage of the hurricane.

When will it be possible to send tourists to hotels restored after Hurricane Irma, what about the renovation of hotels in Varadero, and when will Cayo Coco Airport start working? The ATOR Bulletin was looking for answers.

Recognized as the most powerful over the past few decades in Caribbean, in the period from 8 to 11 September. As a result, the element affected 14 of the 15 provinces of the country, resorts were especially hard hit.in northern Cuba. However, thanks to preventive measures and the well-coordinated work of the Cuban authorities, none of the tourists were injured.

According to Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, the island is already receiving tourists from different countries. According to him, the Cuban government has taken all measures to achieve full. All restoration work is being carried out "in record time", including the acceleration of the island industry, which fulfills urgent orders for hotels for furniture manufacturing, engineering and supply building materials. According to the Ministry of Tourism of the country, by November 1, all hotels on the island will be ready to receive tourists.

As the minister noted, currently in all resorts of the country, tourist facilities are supplied with water, communications and electricity without any restrictions.

Roads and beaches are being intensively restored, and resort areas are being improved. Thus, the roads to the resorts of Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Coco have been completely repaired, which also facilitates the process of reconstruction of the hotel stock that has suffered there.

WHEN CAN YOU FLY TO CAYO COCO AND CAYO SANTA MARIA

By November 15 repairs will be completed at the airport of the resort of Cayo Coco - Jardines del Rey: the work here is recognized as the most complex and technologically advanced. Several specialized teams are working on the restoration of the terminal almost around the clock. In October, a small airport will serve tourists in this region Cayo Las Dunas.

Like how Pullman Cayo Coco have already completed the cleaning and sanitization of their premises and outdoor areas. There are objects on the restoration of which more than 100 people are working at the same time.

By mid-November, 14 out of 18 hotels in the Jardines del Rey archipelago (which includes the islands of Cayo Coco, Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Guillermo) will be fully operational. All of them are expected to start accepting tourists. from the first days of November.

It is reported that the hotels of the Cayo Santa Maria resort will be fully prepared for the meeting of vacationers. by the beginning of November. By mid-October, they will be fully restored here. five hotels with a total fund of 4200 rooms.

IN lesser degree than the northern resorts, the tourist area of ​​the most popular Cuban resort suffered - Varadero. Currently there are already 47 out of 52 hotels. No less attention is paid to the issue of restoration of vegetation, green and landscape areas. As Morrero stressed, in general, the hurricane did not damage the beaches, moreover, in individual cases wind and waves brought more sand to them, which has already been cleaned.

The remaining five hotels: Puntarena, Playa Caleta, Paradisus Varadero, Ocean Patriarca and Meliá Península- will be ready to receive tourists Nov. 1.

ROADS AND MALEKON REPAIR IN HAVANA

The process of restoring Havana is actively underway. With the exception of some hotels, almost all hotels in Havana, located on the coast, have already been renovated. IN 15 out of 18 hotels are already accepting tourists. Tropicoco and Chateau Miramar hotels nearing completion.

In addition, the authorities pay great attention to the reconstruction of Havana's infrastructure. Flooded roads and tunnels have been repaired. The famous Malecon promenade, one of business cards Cuban capital: its individual participants were destroyed by floods. As assured in Cuba, by the high season, the Malecon will again be available to tourists along its entire length.