Development & Aid, Environment, Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – CUBA: Hurricane Charley No Relief for Drought

HAVANA, Aug 23 2004 (IPS) - Hurricane Charley, which hit the western part of Cuba early in the morning of Aug. 13, caused a great deal of destruction but nothing to alleviate the island's ongoing drought.

''It didn't bring any water, and I lost all of my banana and avocado trees,'' peasant farmer Pablo Castillo told Tierramérica. The winds also destroyed the roof of his house, located just outside the capital.

The rains did little to replenish the reservoirs surrounding Havana, home to more than two million people.

Experts from the Meteorology Institute hope this year's rainy season, from May to October, will see precipitation near normal in eastern, central and western Cuba.

The drought is affecting the entire country, but particularly the eastern provinces Camagüey, Las Tunas, Granma, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo.