Cuba Recovers After the Destruction Caused by Hurricane Melissa

CUBA – In Cuba, the focus is now on cleanup and recovery after Hurricane Melissa tore through the island, leaving flooded homes and blocked roads across the east.

Civil defense officials say more than seven hundred thirty-five thousand people were evacuated before the storm hit, a move credited with saving lives.

In Santiago de Cuba and surrounding rural communities, residents returned from shelters to find water still trapped inside their homes as they work to salvage whatever they can.

The army has joined recovery crews, using heavy machinery to clear roads and reach communities cut off by flooding and landslides.