WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3171/96 by Laura GONZÁLEZ ÁLVAREZ , Carlos CARNERO GONZÁLEZ to the Commission. Aid to Cuba for damage caused by Hurricane Lily
Date: 1996-11-22
Institutions: CARNERO GONZALEZ, European Parliament, GONZALEZ ALVAREZ
Subjects: Cuba, aid to disaster victims, cyclone, damage, emergency aid, health aid, humanitarian aid













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91996E3171

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3171/96 by Laura GONZÁLEZ ÁLVAREZ , Carlos CARNERO GONZÁLEZ to the Commission. Aid to Cuba for damage caused by Hurricane Lily  


Official Journal C 096 , 24/03/1997 P. 0067 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-3171/96 by Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) and Carlos Carnero González (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (22 November 1996)Subject: Aid to Cuba for damage caused by Hurricane LilyOn 17 and 18 October 1996, the eastern and central regions of Cuba were hit by Hurricane Lily. Housing was destroyed or damaged and infrastructure, services and social institutions (schools and medical centres) wrecked. Thousands of hectares of farmland, mainly banana and sugar-cane plantations, were also hit, causing massive economic losses.The authorities' foresight in evacuating thousands of people meant that no lives were lost, but the population is now at risk because of the damage done to water and electricity supplies in the region affected.The scale of the disaster means that emergency food and medical aid is required, as well as aid for repairing houses, services and infrastructure and for getting industry, agriculture and livestock farming back on their feet.Does the Commission have any assessment of the damage? Has it put in hand the humanitarian, financial and technical aid required to ensure the prompt recovery of the area affected?Does the Commission intend to step up its humanitarian aid to Cuba in order to meet these new requirements?Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (9 January 1997)The extent of the damage caused by this hurricane is not yet fully known, since it made some areas inaccessible. Communications are cut, water supplies were cut off for several days in most of the towns affected, and a large amount of public infrastructure (schools, hospitals) has been destroyed. The latest estimates show 56 000 homes destroyed and 270 000 people evacuated to the capital. Damage to agriculture is also worrying, especially as regards plantations of bananas, other fruit, tobacco and coffee, as well as sugar-cane for which 43% of the cultivated area has been destroyed.On 25 October 1996 the Commission adopted an ad hoc decision to provide urgent humanitarian aid totalling ECU 600 000. This involved sending purification equipment (chlorine tablets and calcium hypochlorite) intended to purify drinking water and prevent epidemics, and medicines and syringes to halt diseases affecting the digestive and respiratory system and to combat leptospirosis. These products are currently being distributed.In addition, the third overall plan for humanitarian aid to Cuba, just approved by the Commission, with funding of ECU 8 million and covering one year, is targeted at the priority needs of the most vulnerable part of the Cuban population. No supplementary budget for humanitarian aid is planned at this stage. However, a team has just been sent to identify the needs arising from this natural disaster with a view to rehabilitation measures under budget heading B7-6410.