CUBAN CHRONICLES
After the tornado
by Walter Lippmann
January 28, 2019
The report below will give you a summary of where the damages were and what’s being done in its immediate aftermath. Friends living out in Guanabacoa tell me they STILL don’t have electricity nearly 24 hours after yesterday’s tornado. It’s strange to see that, while I’ve been posting many images of the damages there on my FACEBOOK page, to which I refer you for some of the graphic details, here in Vedado where I live there has been no damage at all. I live on Calle 15, between A and B, one block from the Cardiological Hospital.
The rains began here last night and, Probably as a preventative measure, the local electricity was turned off about 9 PM (sorry, not sure of the precise time) since there was nothing at all that I could do, so I just put myself to bed. Didn’t have any candles nor any flashlights, so I surrendered to the inevitable and put myself to bed.
Remarkably, since I now have Internet access through my cell phone, I was able to check mail and see reports for awhile as there was NO interruption in that service. Lights went back up around 3 AM, so I got up, checked mail and got busy collecting and sharing reports, mostly through Facebook. Stayed busy with that until about 10 AM when I decided to go to bed and just rest.
The rains were so heavy that chairs inside the house had to be moved because some windows only have bars, and the rain gets in. The rain can damage the wooden and leather furniture in the hallway between the stairs, the living room and kitchen, and two of the main bedrooms.
Finally got out of the house about an hour ago and began to walk around the neighborhood. The big agro market at 19th and B was closed by the time I got there. It closes up early on Mondays. Other local small businesses were also closed or closing down, but not due to the weather. There seemed to be fewer cars out on the street, but otherwise live appeared quite normal here, except for the cold weather.
It’s VERY cold here, so I’m wearing three layers including a heavy jacket. Forgot my umbrella, and so will probably leave here (the ETECSA at 17th and A) in hopes of being able to avoid the rain. I did have one local man whose picture I’ve taken several times. I’ll post that later through Facebook. Gee, I’m even wearing GLOVES. Walter Lippmann, live in un-tornadoed Havana. 5:58 PM
Originally posted to facebook January 28, 2019