The US has donated water, food and blankets. In Cuba, civil defense officials evacuated nearly half a million people before and during the two days Georges hit. According to government officials Hurricane Georges' rain and winds destroyed 100 old houses in Havana and 1,000 elsewhere, while damaging more than 20,000 homes throughout the island. About 900 homes were under water. Major damage was also reported to the sugar cane, coffee, plantain and other crops in eastern Cuba.
Sugar still accounts for nearly half of the nation's export revenue.
About 30,000 of the island's 3.8 million residents were forced into shelters. In San Juan's working class Cantera district, low-lying streets were still under a foot of filthy, stagnant water nearly a week after the hurricane hit. Many residents in the city and throughout the country continue to be without electricity and water. Last week, a young woman and three of her children died when a candle fell on the floor of their house, setting the dwelling on fire. The house had no electricity in the aftermath of Georges.