Little more than two weeks after the devastating passage of Hurricane Ian for Cuba, the United States government announced an allocation of 2 million dollars in aid to the thousands of victims on the island.
In a statement, the State Department explained that the aid will be managed through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and explained how the aid will be delivered.
“The United States will work with trusted independent organizations operating in the country and that have a long-standing presence in communities affected by the hurricanes,” State Department spokesman Ned Price was quoted as saying.
In Photos | The passage of Hurricane Ian through Cuba
Cuba began to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Ian, which crossed the island as a category 3 through the western province of Pinar del Río. Ian’s eye hit the area around La Coloma, in Pinar del Río, and came out through Puerto Esperanza.
The foreign spokesman announced that the Administration is reviewing requests from organizations that would help channel the resources, such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
After Ian’s affectations, senior officials from Havana and Washington have been in contact to manage aid.
Along the same lines of cooperation and despite the political tension of more than sixty years between the two governments, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla responded publicly and through a tweet a little later to acknowledge the US for the offer.
The island is going through one of the worst energy crises in recent decades, with scheduled blackouts several hours a day across the country, as people stand in long lines to buy food.
After the increase in power cuts, a series of protests took place in the capital, Havana, and in several provinces of the country, which unusually was recognized by a senior leaderalthough he said that they affected the reconstruction of the affected areas.
The UN asks for international help
Earlier on Tuesday, a United Nations emergency aid entity launched an international appeal in order to collect 42 million dollars in favor of those affected by the passage of Hurricane Ian on the island.
“People expected 50 centimeters of rain, but they experienced three times that amount, losing their homes, family photos, school supplies for children and medicine for elderly parents. We all need to help people respond and recover,” Martin Griffiths, the UN’s Humanitarian Affairs Officer and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in a statement.
The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) reported that has already allocated 7.8 million dollars in aid to the affected areas, mainly to the west of the island.
According to UN data, the impact reached some 3.2 million people, who need electricity and food, as well as the start-up of schools, hospitals, local businesses and agricultural areas.
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