Reports from Havana, Cuba, have indicated that the Antigua and Barbuda students who are studying in that country are ok…that none has been injured or harmed in any way following the passage of Hurricane Melissa this week.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Resident Ambassador to Cuba, George Goodwin, who is currently in St. John’s, is reporting that he has been in constant contact with the students and had been advising them on how best to navigate the storm.
“Luckily, most of the 35-40 students are based in Havana and that area was not affected by the storm. However, we did have some in Santiago, which was affected, but they were advised to move to Havana or other locations out of harm’s way,” Amb. Goodwin stated.
He reported that abut two students who were in Santiago are there doing their specialization and were based at a hospital and therefore had to remain to provide medical care to patients. They too emerged from the storm unharmed.
Amb. Goodwin’s assessments were confirmed by the St. John’s based Cuban Ambassador Sergio Martinez, who noted that most of the students were in Havana or other western provinces of Cuba that were not affected by Melissa.
He added that only those in the Santiago province were in the direct path of the hurricane, but that some either moved to safe areas and in some cases some returned home ahead of the storm.
Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane with 185 mph winds before weakening over Cuba. At least 28 people have been reported dead across Haiti and Jamaica, with more missing.
Cuba evacuated over 735,000 residents ahead of the storm and has begun recovery efforts, including restoring power and distributing food and medicine. Communication lines largely remained open during the hurricane, allowing coordination and family contact.
