Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Alert - Caribbean  1/2002
Tropical Storm Lili
Geneva, October 3, 2002


The Cuban government managed to evacuate nearly 200,000 people before the
full power of hurricane Lili hit the island country on uesday, October 1,
2002. Half of them went to temporary shelters and the other half to
relatives. Winds of more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) an hour swept
across the country leaving a path of destruction, and at least one person
dead. The hurricane was the second to hit Cuba in as many weeks. Tropical
strorm Isidore swept through ten days ago.

A member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, Cuban Council
of Churches (CCC), reports that housing reconsruction material, food and
medicines were needed by people who had weathered the storm. Assessments
of the damage are continuing.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) reports that in total some 316,000 persons were evacuated from
flood-prone coastal areas. The most affected areas are the Isla de la
Juventud and Pinar del Rio Province, suffering from the combined effect of
two hurricanes in less than two weeks. According to official information,
the number of houses damaged by the two hurricanes is about 37,700 of
which 3,600 were destroyed.  ACT member CCC was aready responding to the
humanitarian situation in the wake of hurricane Isidore. The Council's
emergency committee conducted assessments, particularly in Pinar des Rio,
the western province most affected by the storm.

In the municipality of Juan and Martinez some 80 percent of the population
of more than 150,000 people were affected. In most cases their wooden
houses were destroyed as well as crops such as corn, rice and bananas.
Basic services such as elictricity and water were damaged. Another
municipality, Sandino, was similarly affected, with damaged houses and
crops. CCC is supporting these people.

Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Director, Thor-Arne Prois (phone +41 22 791 6032 or mobile phone
+ 41 79 203 6055)
or
ACT Appeals Officer, Elsa Moreno, (phone +41 22 791 6420 or mobile phone
+41 79 608 8133)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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