• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 04 / 18 / 2011

---

Over 100,000 residents of Havana were without running water this past week as Cuba faces its worst drought in 50 years. Last Modified: 17 Apr 2011 19:53. Cuba is facing its worst drought in 50 years [EPA]

Over 100,000 residents of Havana were without running water this past week as Cuba faces its worst drought in 50 years.

The drought situation is also being amplified by the aging and leaking water system that supplies the population.  Fleets of lorries are delivering water to residents as fast as they can.

"As there is no water, you can't wash your clothes. As there is no water, you can't cook. As there is no water, you can't clean your house," Enrique Olivera Gonzalez, a Havana resident, said.

Cuba relies on the tropical showers of the hurricane season to help replenish its reserves.

In the last several years the number of storms around the island nation has been below average.

For 2011 the preliminary forecast calls for an above average year for tropical systems, with 17 names storms and 9 hurricanes.

Whether or not any of these storms will be a drought buster is yet to be determined. The month of May is the official start to Cuba’s rainy season, with hurricane season in June following right behind.

Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/weather/2011/04/201141718271347137.html