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Just a month after the Ecomaterials Conference for Disaster Prevention and Relief in Santa Clara, Michelle, the worst hurricane to pass through Cuba in decades, ravaged the island. The province of Villa Clara was among the hardest hit areas.

Because of the intensity of its winds and the 500 kilometers of its extension, it was a hurricane such as none since 1952, also a category 4 hurricane, but with a lesser extension than Michelle. At that time, there did not exist dams to avoid inundation, nor organizations to protect the population.

The vast experience of Cuba in disaster preparedness during the past four decades became evident during Hurricane Michelle.

The country takes preparative steps when a hurricane is detected. While following the trajectory of a storm, it prepares its entire population through radio and television announcements and the local community organizations activate their contingency plans. It is within this framework that an evacuation of almost 700,000 people some hours prior to Michelle hitting the island could occur.

Experiences of past years have revealed that it is worthwhile to cut electricity once winds achieve an intensity of 70 km per hour. This was done from Pinar del Rio to Ciego de Avila in order to protect people and installations.

During the past decades water runoff systems have become a major component of disaster prevention during the passing of a hurricane. It is a factor in the planning of all human settlements and agricultural areas in Cuba.

Community organization in the realm of civil defense becomes another key aspect. As previously mentioned, the population is quickly informed of approaching hurricanes and is kept constantly informed. This allows the local organizational structure to draw upon an aware population to carry out the steps required.

Some of those steps are as simple as ensuring that buckets are filled with drinking water as a preparation in the event of the water supply being cut off.

This indeed happened during Hurricane Michelle, as water supplies were interrupted, principally due to the electrical cuts. Some 90% of water is pumped with electric motors and in the measure in which the flow of electricity is re-established, does water distribution become normal.

During this period, the use of electricity is being readjusted, and it is sought to restrict electrical consumption in certain public and commercial installations, certain shops, until the national system is reestablished.

Generally Hurricane Michelle did not bring torrential rains, but in some places 165 mm fell in a period of two hours, the amount that falls in the entire month of July, and in other places 293 mm fell in 24 hours, an amount of two months in just one day.

However, public health services were never interrupted and were adjusted to the contingency plans for such circumstances. The focus of the emergency health plans was to avoid infirmities that could arise from hygienic and sanitation situations, such as garbage pickup. Water is treated, vaccination and anti-mosquito campaigns are carried out, as well as other measures. After the hurricane had passed, it was possible to return to the normal activities in the field of health.

Those who attended the Ecomaterials conference and visited the town of Sagua and the village of Isabela will be pleased to know that while much damage occurred, (some 27 houses in Isabela were totally destroyed and some 60 semi-destoryed) CIDEM is able to report certain positive signs.

Of the houses roofed with microconcrete roofing tiles, none of the roofs were destroyed. In fact, just one tile was broken when it was hit by flying objects.

Kathryn Pozak is a founding member of Grupo Sofonias and has captured information from various sources including personal accounts from Cuban colleagues.