• President Fidel Castro travels to Pinar del Río during the hurricane
                   and inquires after the situation of people evacuated • The Isle of Youth
                   also experiences a terrible night

                   BY ANNE-MARIE GARCIA (Special for Granma International)

                   PRESIDENT Fidel Castro traveled to Pinar del Río, 150
                   kilometers west of Havana, during the passing of Hurricane
                   Lili, where he met with Communist Party and provincial
                   government to ensure maximum assistance to the population.
                   The cyclone moved away from the westernmost region of the
                   country after having passed through the Isle of Youth, south
                   of the Cuban capital, in the early morning hours of October 1.

                   Fidel arrived in Pinar del Río at12:30 p.m. and told local
                   journalists: “This hurricane traveled quickly. After leaving the
                   capital the winds were stronger and over the Pinar del Río
                   municipality of Consolación del Sur, the gusts and
                   rainfall were even fiercer.”

                   CONCERN FOR HUMAN LIFE BEFORE ALL ELSE

                   This was the second time that the Cuban president visited Pinar del
                   Río in eleven days, during which period the province faced two
                   hurricanes: “I would never have imagined it,” Fidel said, referring to
                   the second visit.

                   Between 1799 and 2001 Cuba has been hit by two hurricanes
                   during the same season only twice, which is what happened
                   this year with Isidore on September 20 and Lili on October 1.

                   He added that it was better for it to have passed through the
                   same area because there was not much left to bring down and
                   the population was already prepared to confront the
                   phenomenon.

                   On his arrival, María del Carmen Concepción, first secretary of
                   the Party in Pinar del Río, told Fidel that Lili had penetrated
                   Ensenada de Cortés between La Coloma and Playa Bailén,
                   following the path of its predecessor Isidore. She specified
                   that its sustained winds reached 150 kilometers per hour and
                   strong gusts.

                   Fidel was very interested in the people evacuated in areas at
                   risk from flooding, sea penetrations or collapsing buildings.

                   María del Carmen Concepción informed him that 123,000
                   people had been transferred to safe locations, almost 15,000
                   more than with Isidore. She added that as a result of Isidore,
                   20,000 tons of grapefruits had fallen, close to 1,600 of which
                   had been processed and another part directed to social
                   consumption.

                   Concepción added that of the total 41,000 tobacco plants
                   under cultivation, some 20,000 had been damaged by Isidore.
                   Various other cultivated products were lost in mid-harvest,
                   mostly rice.

                   THE STRONGEST HURRICANE IN 40 YEARS FOR THE ISLE
                   OF YOUTH

                   Ismael Betancourt Orestes, a resident of Nueva Gerona, the
                   Isle of Youth capital, was evacuated on the evening of
                   September 30 as part of the preventative measures taken.

                   In the early hours of the following day he confirmed that Lili
                   had destroyed his home, damaged 11 days earlier by Isidore.
                   For him “it was a terrible night,” he told the Granma
                   correspondent for the region.

                   The night of September 30 was endless for the residents of
                   the Isle of Youth, who faced the third hurricane in less than
                   one year; Michelle also crossed it in November 2001.

                   In neighborhoods near Santa Fe and La Melvis, almost all the
                   houses were damaged and many lost their roofs. Electrical
                   and communications networks, storage houses and crops were
                   also damaged.

                   Lili’s gale-force winds, which exceeded 180 kilometers in the
                   northern part of the territory during a period of seven hours,
                   with heavy precipitation, transformed it into the worst
                   hurricane to affect this region in the last 40 years.

                   However, at midday, when Lili reached Pinar del Río, the
                   island’s inhabitants began to remove fallen trees and rubble
                   from damaged homes and buildings, and to help those in
                   need.

                   Pinar residents are now beginning to calculate the damage
                   but since Tuesday night it was known that 37,686 homes
                   were affected, 3,600 of which had collapsed.

                   For example, the Nueva Gerona Hospital treated people who
                   were injured when the walls of a house fell on top of them
                   and patients admitted recalled the intensity of the night as
                   Lili passed through the territory. However, they were grateful
                   for the role of medical personnel who kept them informed and
                   never stopped treating people.

                   FLOODS IN HABANA PROVINCE

                   Although the hurricane mostly affected the western region, a
                   total of 362,000 people and 406,000 animals were evacuated
                   nationwide, the authorities informed.

                   On Tuesday heavy and occasionally intense rainfall was
                   registered in Habana province and gusts of wind brought down
                   electric poles.

                   Groundswells and sea penetrations occurred on the province’s
                   southern coast, particularly dangerous for low-lying areas, but
                   no lives have been reported lost.

                   “I took food to my 20-year-old son who had been evacuated
                   to a relative’s home,” Isolina Martínez, a 55 year-old
                   campesina, told Granma International, as she quickly
                   walked under intense rains on the road leading to Batabanó,
                   a town located 50 kilometers from Havana. She added, “I
                   didn’t want to leave my home. Even though it’s in poor
                   condition, I wanted to take care of the little I have.”

                   A curtain of rain blocked visibility on the road leading to
                   Batabanó, also affected by Isidore 11 days ago.

                   In the vicinity of Batabanó port several streets were flooded.
                   Thirty-nine year-old Aleida Castel safely moved her three
                   horses onto the porch: “I had no other choice because the
                   yard was filled with water.” Danieski, her 11-year-old son
                   didn’t go to school given that classes were suspended in the
                   entire western province.

                   Meanwhile, four fishermen spent the entire time playing
                   dominoes on a porch. “All boats were forced to return to the
                   port by last night,” Rolando Iser (24) indicated. Santiago
                   Valladares, another player, had a positive attitude: “Within
                   three days we’ll be out there fishing again; fish bite more
                   easily after a hurricane.”

                   Teresa Quimera, a store clerk, and her husband, a contingent
                   worker,stood on their balcony surveying the water preventing
                   them from leaving their home.

                   She said her house always floods but she doesn’t want to
                   abandon her house. “Yesterday the authorities came to
                   evacuate people who wanted to leave, but we have food and
                   there is no real risk even with the flooding.” Lázaro added,
                   “We want to take care of what is ours but the Civil Defense
                   passes by periodically to see if we need anything.”

                   Meanwhile, in the home of Grises and Rafael Iser, the water
                   rose to one meter. “We placed all our belongings as high as
                   we could and we won’t leave,” Rafael declared.

                   Rolando Rosello also waited at home for the storm to pass:
                   “A few days ago when Isidore passed the water rose much
                   higher,” pointing to where it reached.

                   At the Batabanó port, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, security agent,
                   stayed behind to watch. “A crane was left behind, it could not
                   be transported to the Batabanó pier with the rest because of
                   technical problems; we had to tie it down well.”