- Title: Cuba fights to save Havana's battered but iconic Malecon from future storms
- Date: 24th July 2020
- Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (JULY 23, 2020) (REUTERS) DIAZ AND HIS WIFE IN THEIR NOW CLEANED UP HOME (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOCAL RESIDENT, ENRIQUE RAFALE DIAZ, SAYING: "It will help me some, but if the hurricane is big it's going to get in regardless. The force of the sea, of nature is colossal, and we'll lose our view. The view will be lost and it won't be worth living here because the
- Embargoed: 7th August 2020 17:02
- Keywords: Cuba Havana climate change effects environment esplanade global warming mitigate road sea level rise seaside walkway weather
- Location: HAVANA, CUBA
- City: HAVANA, CUBA
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Environment,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA00DCO66WJR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Havana's emblematic seaside esplanade, the "Malecon," is under threat from rising seas and saving it has become part of the island country's plans to combat the harmful effects of climate change.
Years of pounding surf and hurricanes have taken their toll on the Malecon's infrastructure which runs for some five kilometers (3.1 miles) along Havana's seafront and parts of which date from the early years of the 20th Century.
During particularly nasty meteorological events, such as Hurricane Irma in 2017, the Malecon has been submerged and left nearby streets and neighborhoods flooded.
So, the Cuban government has come up with a plan to shore up and heighten the seawall in a construction plan scheduled to last seven years. The work on the Malecon is part of a broader set of policies designed to mitigate the effects of climate change on the Caribbean island nation dubbed "Plan Vida," or Plan Life.
But, not everyone is happy with the plans. In particular the plan to heighten the wall has drawn the ire of local residents fearful of losing their coveted sea views.
"What they're going to do is make it ugly - the prettiest thing in Cuba - the Malecon where everyone comes to cry, to talk about love, guitars, mariachis, to talk about your sorrows, your pain. That's the best and that's what we're going to lose," local resident Madelyn Ruiz told Reuters on Thursday (July 23).
(Production: Mario Fuentes, Nelson Gonzalez, Anett Rios, Rodrigo Gutierrez, Patrick Alwine) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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