• Submitted by: admin
• Caribbean
• national
• Society
• Business and Economy
• Politics and Government
• 09 / 14 / 2008

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In statements published in the Granma newspaper, Major General Carlos M. Lezcano Perez, president of the National Institute of State Reserves, said the areas with the heaviest damage will receive priority.

"Every year, the government outlines a plan to increase its reserves of food, fuel, building materials, medicines, etc.," explained the official, "but it would be naïve to believe that the reserves created by a small country like Cuba, with limited financial capacity and more than a half-century of economic war [with the US], would be enough to meet the demands after a disaster of the magnitude caused by Ike and Gustav," reads the statement.

Hurricane Ike swept the island from east to west, leaving behind 200,000 damaged homes and razed crops, severely affecting the Cuban economic infrastructure.

(ACN)