- Title: CUBA-DROUGHT Cuba on edge as drought worsens
- Date: 19th August 2015
- Summary: CONSOLACION DEL SUR, PINAR DEL RIO, CUBA (AUGUST 18, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LEVEL OF PETATE DAM BEING MEASURED OX HEAD ZOYLO MORENA, A WORKER AT PETATE DAM, PLACING YOKE ON OX (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) WORKER AT PETATE DAM, ZOYLO MORENA, SAYING: "There has been a lot of drought and the dam has been unable to fill up because it does not rain. The main source of water comes from the rivers. When it rains up in the mountains, it's the main source it has. Rain has fallen but no huge downpours." HOUSEWIFE, OLGA HERNANDEZ, WALKING TOWARDS TAP OF WATER, BUT FINDS THERE IS NO WATER HERNANDEZ WALKS INTO HOME CARRYING BUCKETS OF WATER HERNANDEZ USES WATER FROM BUCKET HERNANDEZ MOPS HOME (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HOUSEWIFE, OLGA HERNANDEZ, SAYING: "We neighbours help one another or sometimes, there's a small well nearby that may have a little bit of water. That's how we manage, more or less. We have to make do until things get better." VARIOUS OF WATER SUPPLY TANK TRUCK FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE POPULATION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) WATER TANK TRUCK DRIVER, DIOBERTO ALEXANDRINI, SAYING: "Well, the drought this time has hit hard. There are many problems with the wells which have dried up due to problems with the springs and that problem, well it's hitting hard here, it's critical." WATER SUPPLY TANK IN TOWN ALEXANDRINI, TURNS ON ENGINE OF WATER SUPPLY TANK TRUCK WOMAN LOOKING AT LEAKING WATER CONNECTION FROM WATER SUPPLY TANK TRUCK (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HOUSEWIFE, BRENDA DEL PINO, SAYING: "Look love, we have endured up to 45 to 50 days without running water (at homes). Had to buy water tanks, that is, if they are willing to come." MORE OF DEL PINO, GETTING WATER FROM CISTERN VARIOUS OF BOY FILLING CONTAINERS WITH WATER TRACTOR PLOUGHING TOBACCO FIELD DRY LAND FARMERS ON HORSEBACK IN AREA AROUND DAM (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FARMER OF TOBACCO FIELD, PORFIRIO RODRIGUEZ, SAYING: "Just imagine, Pinar del Rio will be quite affected because it is the best province with the best tobacco in Cuba, the world. Tell me if we have no water, how are we going to make the tobacco harvest, which is the main business here in Pinar del Rio. Just imagine how the province will be affected, because the main source of economy for Pinar del Rio is tobacco." FARMERS ON HORSEBACK DRY LEAVES ON RIVER GENERAL VIEW OF AREA
- Embargoed: 3rd September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cuba
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVACL9SPAPE7938V5KVYISMV8AJE
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Cuba put its civil defence system on alert on this week due to a year-long drought that is forecast to worsen in the coming months and has already damaged agriculture and left more than a million people relying on trucked-in water.
The country's civil defence system said the drought, record heat and water leakage have led to "low levels of available water for the population, agriculture, industry and services."
Among the hardest hit areas is the western province of Pinar del Rio, where 70 percent of tobacco crops in the country are located. The current drought is considered the most intense in the last 50 years, local media reported.
Data from the Institute of Water Resources indicate that 24 reservoirs in the province are only filled to 30.84 percent of their capacity and the situation could worsen if it does not rain in the next two months, before the start of the dry period in November.
"There has been a lot of drought and the dam has been unable to fill up because it does not rain. The main source of water comes from the rivers. When it rains up in the mountains, it's the main source it has. Rain has fallen but no huge downpours," said 33-year-old Zoylo Morena, who works at the Petate Dam in Pinar del Rio.
For weeks, residents in Pinar del Rio rush to fill up all available deposits from cisterns to wells, as water has been cut off in many homes.
"We neighbours help one another or sometimes, there's a small well nearby that may have a little bit of water. That's how we manage, more or less. We have to make do until things get better," said 53-year-old housewife Olga Hernandez, who loads buckets with water and carries them to her home for everyday tasks such as washing or cleaning.
The drought has left one in 10 residents waiting for government tank trucks to survive in record summer heat. If conditions worsen in the coming months, it will force more than a million people to depend on water distributed in those vehicles.
Dioberto Alexandrini sees the problem for himself. The 53-year-old water tank truck driver from the Consolacion del Sur municipality said the problem was critical.
"Well, the drought this time has hit hard. There are many problems with the wells which have dried up due to problems with the springs and that problem, well it's hitting hard here, it's critical," Alexandrini said.
The service provided by Alexandrini is expected by many residents, who wait on the street with their containers and queue for water as soon as the truck pulls in.
"Look love, we have endured up to 45 to 50 days without running water (at homes). Had to buy water tanks, that is, if they are willing to come," said housewife Brenda del Pino.
Communist-run Cuba loses around 50 percent of the water pumped from its reservoirs due to leaks. There is little irrigation of farm land and the systems that exist are outdated and inefficient.
From Cuba's famous cigars to sugar, vegetables, rice, coffee and beans, the drought is damaging crops and has slowed planting.
Cuban tobacco is one of the country's primary exports and the main source of employment and economy of the region of Pinar del Rio. But the 2015-2016 harvest season could suffer if growth targets are not met due to the drought.
Porfirio Rodriguez, a tobacco farmer in Consolacion del Sur, believes that if the crisis continues, Pinar del Rio will be greatly affected.
"Just imagine, Pinar del Rio will be quite affected because it is the best province with the best tobacco in Cuba, the world. Tell me if we have no water, how are we going to make the tobacco harvest, which is the main business here in Pinar del Rio. Just imagine how the province will be affected, because the main source of economy for Pinar del Rio is tobacco," said 62-year-old Rodriguez.
The government has not provided a national breakdown of drought damage but it said on Monday (August 17) that emergency measures were being taken at all levels, including stricter rationing of water through the state-run waterworks.
This year's rainy season, which includes the hurricane season, is forecast to bring rains well below the norm due to El Nino.
It has been seven years since a hurricane, which on average hits Cuba every other year, has swept along the island, dumping much-needed torrential rains along with inevitable damage.
Hurricane Sandy cut a narrow path across parts of eastern Cuba in 2012. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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