- Title: Baracoa looks at road ahead in Cuba after Matthew
- Date: 6th October 2016
- Summary: BARACOA-SANTA MARIA, CUBA (OCTOBER 5, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING BACK ALONG THE SANTA MARIA-BARACOA BORDER TO HOUSES AFTER SPENDING NIGHT IN PENSIONS VARIOUS OF AREA RESIDENT, JULIENYS MATOS MORA, RETURNING TO HOME (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) AREA RESIDENT, JULIENYS MATOS MORA, SAYING: "We were evacuated and when the sun came up today, I came out and here was this disaster. I tried to collect my things, and I left my home, went to that house there, which is my brother-in-law's and it was turned over. But we're here to look for (solutions)." MAN SITTING INSIDE HOME, LOOKING THROUGH WINDOW RAIN DROPS FALLING OFF PLANT PEOPLE RIDING CART (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) AREA RESIDENT, BEATRIZ MACHADO PEREZ, "Yes, our things are affected, damaged, but they called us from over there, let us know all the damage that took place. And now we are going to go our house to see what's left." CHILD IN RAIN RAIN POURING THROUGH DAMAGED HOUSE RAIN BEING SEEN IN FIELD
- Embargoed: 21st October 2016 04:58
- Keywords: Guantanamo Baracoa Matthew winds
- Location: BARACOA-SANTA MARIA, CUBA
- City: BARACOA-SANTA MARIA, CUBA
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
- Reuters ID: LVA00152V7O07
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in almost a decade, powered toward the Bahamas and Florida's eastern coast on Wednesday (October 5) after battering Haiti and Cuba with torrential rains and killing at least 20 people.
The hurricane whipped Cuba and Haiti with 140 mile-per-hour (230 kph) winds on Tuesday, pummeling towns, farmland and resorts.
There were no immediate reports of deaths, casualties or major damage in Cuba, where the government emphasized hurricane preparation.
But Matthew did thrash the tourist town of Baracoa in the province of Guantanamo, gutting many houses and dumping hunks of cement, wooden beams, roof tiles and fallen electrical lines on the streets.
Residents of Baracoa began returning to their homes on Wednesday entering back into their home from Santa Maria.
They returned to their homes and surveyed the damage.
"We were evacuated and when the sun came up today, I came out and here was this disaster. I tried to collect my things, and I left my home, went to that house there, which is my brother-in-law's and it was turned over. But we're here to look for (solutions)," said local, Julienys Matos Mora.
"Yes, our things are affected, damaged, but they called us from over there, let us know all the damage that took place. And now we are going to go our house to see what's left," another local, Beatriz Machado Perez, said.
Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city, which lies in the southeast of Cuba, was not badly hit, state media said.
The storm passed close to the disputed U.S. Naval base and military prison, and was on track to mow over the central and northwestern Bahamas, the NHC forecasts showed.
Matthew was a Category Four hurricane through Tuesday but was downgraded to Category Three early on Wednesday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The eye of the storm was about 105 miles (169 km) south of Long Island in the Bahamas on Wednesday morning and it was expected to be very near the east coast of Florida by Thursday evening, the NHC said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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