By Vanessa Bauza
HAVANA BUREAU
 

PLAYA BARACOA, Cuba · Hurricane Charley took most of Zoraida Delgado's beachside wooden home. Exactly one month later, Ivan could finish the job in a rare and powerful one-two punch not seen in Cuba in almost 60 years.

Although its exact path was difficult to predict, the deadly Category 5 Ivan threatened to make landfall near seaside towns and fishing villages that are still struggling to recover from Charley's punishing winds.

The Cuban government evacuated more than 350,000 people in low-lying areas across the island, according to Maj. Celina Perez of Cuba's National Civil Defense. That number could increase by the time the storm strikes, possibly Monday morning.

Like thousands of others in towns west of Havana, Delgado prepared to leave her home, not knowing what, if anything, would remain when she returned.

"We leave this to God's will. What more can I do?" said Delgado, 53, whose living room and bedroom was blown to bits by Charley. "I hope that when I return at least the bathroom will be here."

Not since 1948 have two intense hurricanes like Charley and Ivan battered Cuba in the same year. On Saturday Ivan seemed to veer west, threatening the Isle of Youth, western Havana and the tobacco-producing region of Pinar del Rio with its 160-mph winds. If it retains its strength, Ivan could be the first Category 5 hurricane to attack Cuba in more than 70 years.

"This is not just any hurricane," Jose Rubiera, head of Cuba's National Forecasting Center, told Cuban government-run television. He estimated gusts of up to 195 mph.

Yaqueline Tang was one of many residents who refused to evacuate a month ago when Charley struck. However, she planned to heed the government's warnings this time, frightened by Ivan's fierce winds and rains, which have already claimed about 50 lives across the Caribbean.

"My home has broken beams and shingles missing from the last hurricane," said Tang, 33, who lives in the fishing village of Jaimanitas. "Now I will leave. We've seen the images of what it did in the other countries it hit."

With scarce supplies, many families tried to secure their meager belongings as best they could.

In the town of Santa Fe, about 800 homes were destroyed or damaged by Charley on Aug. 13. On Saturday, Alvaro Camero, 59, scavenged through the debris of what was once his friend's home, searching for salvageable nails to secure his windows.

"A lot of people have come through here looking for nails and boards," Camero said as he sifted through the rubble, pulling rusted nails from boards and placing them in a small dish. "We don't have a hardware store. I have to resolve my problems somehow."

Nearby, a black tarp covered the home of Maria Veloz. Charley pried away many of the shingles from her roof, soaked interior walls and damaged her mattresses and other belongings. She feared Ivan could be worse than Charley, because it is only moving at about 9 mph and it is a wet storm.

"This is sad," Veloz, 56, said. "We don't have the economy to get ahead and now we have another storm coming."

Vanessa Bauza can be reached at vmbauza1@yahoo.com.

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