Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Cuba Prepares for Hurricane Michelle

Aired November 04, 2001 - 07:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: As you heard Jill mention, a Category Four hurricane. Winds of 135 miles an hour taking aim at Cuba. In south Florida, everyone is being evacuated from Key West northward, to the Seven Mile Bridge. Cuba and the Florida Keys are obviously no stranger to hurricanes, but CNN's Havana bureau chief Lucia Newman reports Cubans are taking Michelle very seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The seas are getting rougher. The winds are blowing stronger, and the lines at stores that sell water and food are getting longer as the citizens of Havana prepare with surprising serenity for Hurricane Michelle.

"We're prepared for anything," says this man. "We're not afraid of anything after what we've lived through over the past 40 years."

Others, though, are nervous.

"Of course I'm afraid, because they say the winds are going to be very strong," says this father.

People living near low-lying areas have already been evacuated, and civil defense teams have cut down tall trees. Key government buildings and a few shops are putting up plywood to protect windows, but for the majority here that is simply not an option, since wood is as scarce as the sun right now.

Cuba is a nation accustomed to hurricanes, but the forecasts for Michelle are worrisome even for seasoned storm watchers.

"This one is similar to the one that hit Havana in 1944, and since then more than 40 years ago, we haven't felt such an intense hurricane," says Jose Rubiera (ph), chief national meteorologist.

Thousands of tourists from all over the world are now trapped in their hotels.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody is concerned. I just wonder what it will look like in the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not that scared, because all the people are here, they're used to it and they know the things they have to do, so I trust that, and I think, well, it's a bit exciting. NEWMAN: President Fidel Castro is also trying to sound upbeat.

"Everyone is taking the appropriate measures," he says. "We have to protect the warehouses and produce. What's a little hurricane compared to what we see happening in the rest of the world?"

(on camera): But while the people of Havana are well organized, and by and large psychologically ready for this hurricane, there's no doubt that this city, which is already crumbling in many areas, is ill-prepared for such a ferocious storm.

Lucia Newman, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And Lucia joins us now on the telephone with the very latest as Michelle squirrels closer to the Caribbean island.

Good morning to you, Lucia.

NEWMAN: Good morning, Martin. Indeed, Hurricane Michelle is coming closer and closer, although it's not expected to hit mainland Cuba for another eight to 10 hours. And yet already, Martin, the wind gusts are becoming extremely strong. It's been raining on and off all night. And as daybreak begins here, we can see the waves along Havana's Milacron (ph) Ocean Drive becoming more fierce.

At least 300,000 people have been evacuated now, we're being told, from low-lying areas in at least three provinces. And people's -- mainly people whose homes are near the water or simply whose homes can't resist this hurricane.

In the countryside, the livestock has been taken to higher ground. Farmers have been picking tobacco and banana from plantations in Coronado del Rio (ph) and Habana provinces as fast as they can, to try and rescue the crops or as much as they can.

But right now, Martin, people are being told to bolt their doors and windows, stay indoors and simply hold their breath and wait -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Lucia, those that are evacuated, where do they go?

NEWMAN: They go to shelters. Many of them go to schools and other makeshift shelters that the government has set up precisely for these sorts of situations.

As you know, Cuba is an island; that it is a country accustomed to getting hurricanes. Although, as we said earlier, this hurricane, or a hurricane as fierce as this one, is not something that they've seen for a very, very long time -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: And another point of fact is, being in the Caribbean as it is, Cuba usually does not suffer a very high death rate. It does seem to be well prepared, and take care of its civilians. NEWMAN: Exactly. They are extremely organized. The same neighborhood block committees that are often criticized for keeping an eye on people's political opinions, for example, turn out to be very useful in situations of this sort because they can organize people very quickly, inform them of what they need to do, move people to safer areas if need be.

And Cuba has a reputation in that sense, of having a very low death rate when natural disasters hit -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: CNN Havana bureau chief Lucia Newman joining us on the telephone. We'll stay in touch with you throughout the day. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com