UN in Cuba presents Multimedia on Recovery of Santiago after Hurricane Sandy

By: Maydelis Gomez

Edited by: UNDRR - Americas

SANTIAGO, Cuba May 5, 2015 - Two and a half years after the impact of Hurricane Sandy in Santiago, the second most important province of Cuba, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Cuba in collaboration with the Faculty of Construction of the University of Oriente, developed the multimedia application "The Recovery of Santiago de Cuba after Hurricane Sandy " based on the premise that learning from this experience is key to strengthening resilience.

The application created in the framework of the initiatives of the United Nations System (UNS) in Cuba, systematizes the actions carried out during the response and recovery, as well as current actions in order to assess the perception of natural hazard risks and how to act in similar situations, while it details, through different materials, how the process was carried out and how it continues to be developed, which is essential for the replication of good practices and lessons learned to be applied in other cities of Cuba and the world.

Israel Lahera, President of the Palma Soriano Municipality, recognized the interagency work of the UNS in the response and recovery process, and highlighted: “Thanks to this application, if a similar weather event happened in Santiago or elsewhere in Cuba, we could communicate the experience acquired in terms of what was necessary to bring relief to those affected.”

 Additionally Juan Manuel Pascual, Professor at the University of Oriente, said: “We are working to develop the highest level of sustainability that can be achieved, which is that of the municipalities. All of this contributes to strengthening preparedness and reducing the risk of the population to phenomena such as hurricanes or earthquakes.”

The product was officially presented in Cuba during the recently held International Book Fair, in a space that served for the exchange of ideas about what was accomplished and what remains to be done on disaster risk reduction. It was attended by numerous actors and stakeholders in the recovery process of this nearly 500 year old city, whose experiences are included in the multimedia application.

Previously, “The Recovery of Santiago de Cuba after Hurricane Sandy” was presented by Cuba during the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), held in Sendai, Japan in March of this year.

It should be noted that thanks to the significant advances in the recovery of housing and in improving the quality of life of the population, those who visit Santiago today can see that Sandy's footprint has been virtually erased.

Related Links:

Audio report on "The recovery of Santiago after Hurricane Sandy"

United Nations System in Cuba

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