Hurricane Season in Cuba, different?
Cuba is the largest and most populated island in the Caribbean yet is consistently experiences the lowest death tolls during hurricane season. According to United Nations, it's not because Cubans are lucky but because they're prepared.
"We were prepared for a big one, and big it was," said one man of Hurricane Ivan. He and nearly 2 million others were evacuated from low lying areas and fragile buildings ahead of the hurricane. Nobody was killed.
Preparations for a hurricane start well in advance. The same system that gives the state total political and economic control is used efficiently to mobilize the nation to face natural disasters.
State runs television and the civil defense authority bombard the population with information and instructions about what measures to take. On every block, there's a person assigned to take a census on who is being evacuated to which shelter, with special attention paid to the elderly and pregnant women.
"We have a list, and tell each person where they have to go and there, they're taken care of,"
In the fishing village of La Coloma, which is vulnerable to hurricane flooding, a massive evacuation was mandatory. The police and army were responsible for guaranteeing there was no looting. Electricity is cut ahead of the hurricane to prevent electrocutions.
After Hurricane Ivan, the seaside village of Las Canas looked like a ghost town. Its residents evacuated days earlier. But while many lost much of their belongings, at least no one had to cry over the loss of a loved one.
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Cuba has extensive experience in handling powerful hurricanes. Its plans for evacuation and every aspect of hurricane response are based on first protecting its people, not property—as in the U.S. Hurricane crises are handled with humanity and compassion so that 2,000 children would never go missing.
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Unfortunately, with Hurricane Rita striking, forecasts indicate 2005 and 2006 will be some of the most active hurricane seasons in history - accompanied by all the hazards their fury implies. For the public good, U.S. authorities at all levels should learn more about how small, resource-constrained Cuba reduces the risk of disaster and disease when these storms strike.
The United Nations, Oxfam (an international aid and development organization) and other international organizations recognize Cuba as a leader in disaster response. A 2004 Oxfam America report titled "Weathering the Storm," explains how Cuba consistently and equitably reduces risk and mitigates disaster damage, keeping deaths at a minimum and diseases at bay. Hurricanes Ivan, Charley and Michelle were just a few of the recent storms that struck Cuba where death tolls were minimal.
Ironically enough, Cuba's own shortage of resources - further limited by U.S. restrictions on trade - has obliged the country to train doctors well-equipped with clinical examination and diagnostic skills more independent of high-tech equipment - and there are certainly no labs and little electricity on the flooded Delta.
Furthermore, these doctors are accustomed to working in the worst conditions, often going where there was no health care at all before they arrived. Since 1960, Cuba has been sending doctors to practice all over the developing world in response to natural disasters but also to help build health care systems. Nearly 25,000 Cuban health professionals now provide longer-term health services in 68 countries, more than the entire United Nations system combined, and certainly more than any other one country.
The Katrina doctors contingent was assembled with specific expertise: All have disaster training and average 10 years of clinical practice; and more than 1,000 are family medicine specialists.
This would have proved vital in the immediate aftermath of Katrina, where UNICEF estimated one-fourth to one-third of the million-plus persons urgently needing care are children, and many others are elderly, mothers and medically challenged victims.
Surveys indicate many of these Gulf Coast Americans do not have adequate health coverage to begin with, many with unattended chronic conditions complicating their prognosis for long-term recovery.
Once again, the kind of comprehensive care offered by the Cuban family doctors - who deal on a daily basis with the same conditions at home - would have been an ideal, ready-made match. Certainly one to seriously consider, given international recognition for the Cuban health system
Even Cuban-American embargo supporter Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., said Katrina was the moment to lay politics aside: "If we need doctors, and Cuba offers them, and they provide a good service, then of course we should accept them - and we're grateful for that offer." New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also publicly supports bringing in the Cuban doctors.
Will politics continue to trump human lives? With two more months left this hurricane season alone, we can't afford such shortsightedness. That is, if human lives really matter. Peter Bourne, M.D., is chairman of Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba, an Atlanta-based organization that sponsors physicians on trips to Cuba to learn about the medical system there.
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Cuba is a small and poor country whose geographical location gives it a high and recurrent risk of hurricanes. In the seven years between 1996 and 2002, six major hurricanes have hit Cuba, yet a total of only 16 people have died. By comparison, when Hurricane Isabel hit the mid-Atlantic United States in September 2003, it alone was directly responsible for 22 deaths and indirectly responsible for 6 deaths (AP 2003). The question fairly posed is: What is Cuba doing right in terms of disaster mitigation and preparedness?
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Audrey Mullings, a Jamaican Red Cross volunteer, said: “The best thing to learn from Cuba is that you don’t need a lot of money to make things work.”
The Cuban meteorological institute explains to the public why evacuation is compulsory over a large risk area, reinforcing its message with old footage of hurricanes, and authorities provide public transport to take people to shelters.
New technology is playing a role in saving lives from disasters, with mobile phones and the Internet accessible to growing numbers of people.
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But another important characteristic is that most of buildings and houses in Cuba, including hotels and resorts, are prepared to resist strong winds and Cuban solidarity includes to those who are visiting the island. Friendship and love are the main feelings we are surrounded during a hurricane.
Cuba es la más grande y mas poblada isla en el Caribe y muestra de forma consistente los números de muertes más bajos durante la estación de huracanes. Según los Naciones Unidas, no es porque los cubanos tienen suerte sino porque se preparan.
"Nosotros nos preparamos para uno grande, y grande era", dice un cubano sobre uno de los huracanes. Él y casi 2 millones de otros cubanos se evacuaron de las áreas bajas y los edificios menos resistentes a los posibles vientos del huracán. Nadie murió.
Los preparativos para el huracán son bien por adelantado. El mismo sistema que da el mando político y económico estatal se usa para movilizar eficazmente la nación para enfrentar los catástrofes naturales.
La televisión controlada por el Estado bombardea a la población con la información e instrucciones sobre qué medidas para tomar. En cada cuadra, hay una persona asignada para asumir un censo y decirle a cada quién cuando y como evacuarse y a qué refugio, con atención especial a los ancianos y mujeres embarazadas.
"Nosotros tenemos una lista, y se le dice a cada persona dónde tienen que ir y allí ellos reciben todo tipo de cuidados",
En el pueblo de pescadores de La Coloma que es muy vulnerable a los huracanes una evacuación completa era obligatoria. La policía y ejército eran responsables para garantizar que no hubiera ningún saqueo. La electricidad se corta para prevenir las electrocuciones.
Después del Huracán Ivan, el pueblo de la costa de Las Canas se parecía un pueblo del fantasma. Sus residentes evacuaron días antes. Pero mientras muchos perdieron sus cosas, por lo menos nadie tenía que llorar por la pérdida de no ser querido.
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Cuba tiene una experiencia extensa ocupándose de huracanes poderosos. Sus planes para la evacuación y cada aspecto del huracán son basados en proteger a las personas primero, y no la propiedad -como en las crisis del Huracán en America.
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Desgraciadamente, con el Huracán Rita golpeando, las previsiones indican que este año y el próximo serán unas de las mas . Para el público en general las autoridades americanas deben aprender mas cómo Cuba, pobre en recursos, pequeña reduce el riesgo de desastre y enfermedad cuando enfrenta estas tormentas.
Los Naciones Unidas, Oxfam ( ayuda internacional y organización de desarrollo) y otros organismos internacionales reconocen a Cuba como un líder en las respuestas a tales desastres. Un informe del 2004de la Oxfam y titulado "Enfrentando la Tormenta", explica cómo Cuba reduce el riesgo de forma consistente y mitiga el daño del desastre, mientras mantiene las muertes en un mínimo. Los huracanes Ivan, Charley y Michelle simplemente fueron algunas de las recientes tormentas que golpearon Cuba y dónde los números de muertos fueron mínimos.
Irónicamente, la propia escasez de recursos de Cuba ha obligado al país a entrenar a doctores en el examen clínico y habilidades de diagnóstico más independiente de equipos alta tecnología - y no hay ningún laboratorio ni electricidad en las horas siguientes a un huracán.
Además, estos doctores están acostumbrados a trabajar en las peores condiciones, y a menudo van a trabajar donde no ha habido ningún cuidado de salud en absoluto antes de que ellos llegaran. Cuba ha estado enviando doctores que practiquen por el mundo en vías de desarrollo en respuesta a los catástrofes naturales desde 1960, pero también ayuda a levantar buenos sistemas de salud. Casi 25,000 profesionales de salud cubanos proporcionan ahora la salud a largo plazo en 68 países, más que todo el sistema de las Naciones Unidas completo combinado, y ciertamente más de cualquier otro país.
Incluso el partidario del embargo cubano-americano Senador Mel Martínez, R-Fla., dijo que Katrina era el momento de poner la política a un lado: "Si nosotros necesitamos a doctores, y Cuba los ofrece, y ellos proporcionan un servicio bueno, entonces claro que nosotros debemos aceptarlos - y agradecemos esa oferta”. El de Gobernador Nuevo México Bill Richardson también públicamente apoyó que traigan a los doctores cubanos.
¿La política continuará jugando con las vidas humanas?
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Cuba es un país pequeño y pobre cuya situación geográfica le da un riesgo alto y recurrente de huracanes. En los siete años entre 1996 y 2002, seis huracanes mayores han golpeado a Cuba, aunque solo un total de16 personas han muerto. En comparación, cuando el huracán Isabel llegó a los Estados Unidos en el 2003 fue directamente responsable de 22 muertes e indirectamente responsable de 6 muertes (AP 2003). La pregunta es: ¿Qué está Cuba haciendo para corregir lo que se refiere a la mitigación del desastre y la preparación previa?
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Audrey Mullings, un voluntario de la Cruz Roja jamaicana, dijo: "Lo mejor que se aprende de Cuba es que usted no necesita mucho dinero para hacer que las cosas funcionen”.
La Nueva tecnología está jugando un papel en salvar durante los desastres, con los teléfonos móviles e Internet accesible a números crecientes de personas.