The heavy rains that were registered in the eastern region during the weekend caused a flood in the Mayarí river, which caused the collapse of the Arroyo Seco bridge, leaving almost 500 people isolated in the province of Holguín.
According to the official press, although the collapse of this bridge, located at the end of the Mayarí dam, did not cause damage to people or homes, 495 citizens ended up incommunicado at the head of the popular council.
Now, the Cuban authorities are looking for alternatives to assist the six communities that ended up isolated (Cuatro veredas, Angostura, Los Laneros, Calunga, Camarones and Jicotea).
According to the medium TelecrystalInés María Chapman, Deputy Prime Minister of the Island, went this Sunday to the damaged bridge, together with the first secretary of the party in the province of Holguín, Ernesto Santiesteban Velázquez.
The officials’ visit was made in order to assess the situation and take measures to help citizens.
According to Chapman, one of the priorities must be to take precautionary measures so that children do not lack milk and medical attention is guaranteed to those who require it.
In the same way, he said that it was necessary to guarantee drinking water for the people in the affected settlements, for which reason he insisted on acquiring water filters and distributing them among the residents.
For its part, the state media Granma affirmed that a shipment of flour was going to arrive at the place to “guarantee” bread to the isolated citizens, while two boats were used to transfer people from one side of the river to the other.
The official newspaper also indicates that they have begun to assess the damage, however, it does not give details on when the reconstruction of the damaged bridge would begin.
The Arroyo Seco bridge was built in April 2015, and is considered one of the most important works of the Turquino Plan in the province of Holguín. This structure was damaged during the early hours of Saturday due to the flooding of the Mayarí river.
Additionally, heavy rains in the east caused flooding in the municipality of Sagua de Tánamo, where homes in low-lying areas ended up affected by the water. As a consequence, the inhabitants of the area were evacuated.
Similarly, the El Cedrito area, located in the Juan Díaz valley, suffered damage, something that is normal during the heavy rainy season. According to the local Civil Defense, this is the fifth time since 1993 that such large floods have occurred due to the rise of the river.
