Responding to Hurricane Oscar and Power Outages in Cuba
Episcopal Relief & Development Responds to Hurricane Oscar and Power Outages in Cuba
Press Release
November 18, 2024
Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the Episcopal Church of Cuba to respond to Hurricane Oscar, and the mid-October power grid failure that continues to impact the entire island.
On October 18, following weeks of intermittent grid outages, ten million people lost power. On October 20, during the blackout, Hurricane Oscar made landfall, flooding and damaging the island’s eastern side, and killing seven people. People in the Guantanamo and Baracoa areas had little warning that Oscar was coming because the ongoing power outages badly affected communication systems. Church leaders surveyed the impacted areas and found 82 homes had completely collapsed, 1300 had partially collapsed and over 100 families’ appliances were destroyed or washed away.
In response to Hurricane Oscar and the ongoing power outages, Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the Episcopal Church of Cuba to provide food, hygiene products, fans, rechargeable lamps and supplies for home repairs.
“The physical and emotional damage from Oscar and the collapse of the country’s electrical power system is considerable,” said Margaret Ruiz, Program Officer, Episcopal Relief & Development. “Many people are in the dark, without water and food, and other basic necessities. This is why we are working with church leaders to alleviate suffering and to prevent illness or death.”
On November 6, Hurricane Rafael ravaged the northwestern side of Cuba just above Havana, again knocking out the island’s power grid and creating deadly flash flood and mudslide conditions. On Nov 10, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook the southern part of the island. Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the church to assess needs.
Please pray for the people affected by the blackout, the earthquake and hurricanes Oscar and Rafael. Support to the International Disaster Response Fund will help communities throughout Cuba, and around the world, to recover from disasters.
For over 80 years, Episcopal Relief & Development has worked with an extensive network of faith and community partners to advance lasting change in communities affected by injustice, poverty, disaster and climate change. Inspired by our faith, we reach over three million people each year by focusing on four interconnected priorities: nurturing the potential of caregivers and young children, reducing violence against women and girls, strengthening communities’ resilience to climate change and facilitating humanitarian response to disasters. Together with our partners, we leverage what’s working well to drive impact, learning and sustainability. Together, we create lasting change. Join us: www.episcopalrelief.org/sign-up
