(The contrast between Cuba's maximum efficiency, which is rooted
in its prioritizing human needs and the saving of lives over all
others, and the malignant neglect with which the government of
the United States essentially allowed New Orleans to be smashed
is breathtaking. Washington has prepared twenty-five THOUSAND
body bags for the process which is just beginning of picking up
the pieces following the hurricane. Cuba's long record and solid
accomplishments are things which we in the United States should
be studying and emulating. Washington wants to impose a system
like what exists in the United States on the Cuban people but
during these recent tragic days, some of the differences which
exist between the two societies are becoming newly clear to a
stunned world. Read this very carefully and know that it's not
the only such example. Senator Mel Martinez, no friend of Cuba's
government, seems to have learned something from the island's
experiences which he thinks could be well learned from here.

(Senator Mel Martinez comments may be accessed here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/41976 )
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<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-acuba09sep09,0,2808991.story?co\
ll=sfla-news-cuba>

Cuba's storm preparedness seen as
essential to national security, economy
By Ruth Morris Staff Writer
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL

September 9, 2005

HAVANA . They have no Astrodome or cruise ships to house evacuees,
and meals-ready-to-eat usually consist of rice and beans.

But Cubans have weathered some of the most violent storms the tropics
can churn up, with surprisingly low death tolls and almost perfect
compliance with evacuation orders.

Last year, United Nations emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland
singled out Cuba for praise among Caribbean nations for
hurricane-evacuation planning. When Hurricane Ivan swiped the island
last September, for example, Cuba didn't record a single death, while
115 people died in other parts of the region. The same month,
Hurricane Jeanne killed more than 1,500 in Haiti, with many drowning
in floodwaters.

Now, as analysts and politicians examine how the U.S. government
responded to Hurricane Katrina -- and perhaps avoid a similar
catastrophe in the future -- some say this communist island may have
a few lessons to offer.

Cuban evacuations are mostly carried out by community groups that
take their cues from the government. The military assists, but the
Cuban troops are not armed.

"Cuba views hurricanes as a top national security priority. and they
know the drill," said Dan Erikson, Caribbean specialist at the
Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank. Besides putting
lives in peril, he said hurricanes represent a threat to Cuba's
economic underpinnings: agriculture and tourism.

"The drill" Erikson refers to includes yearly military exercises,
across the island, with two-day training sessions for emergency
workers, simulated evacuations and reviews of emergency plans.

When hurricanes come barreling through, Cuba's four state-run
television stations run nonstop evacuation orders and weather
reports. The coverage is anchored by President Fidel Castro, who
coordinates response during live broadcasts as if waging battle
against an invading army.

"It's an organized system, in a pyramid structure," said Gabriel Diaz
Ramirez, a Cuban pediatrician dispatched to Indonesia earlier this
year to treat survivors of the tsunami. "We have our government's
support."

Diaz is one of 1,500 Cuban doctors Castro has offered to send to the
United States to help out in the swamped and fetid neighborhoods left
behind by Hurricane Katrina. The State Department suggested that it
probably won't need the help, citing "robust" medical resources at
home.

Perhaps the most striking element of Cuba's disaster preparedness is
that most residents obey evacuation orders without question. The
government says it evacuated 1.5 million people ahead of Hurricane
Dennis, in July. The majority joined family members in safe zones,
and 245,000 flocked to state-run shelters.

This is a point of stark contrasts and debate in New Orleans, where
thousands decided to ride out the storm at home and were later
plucked from flooded attics, or perished. Others still refuse to
leave still, even as toxic muck swamps the streets and armed forces
move in this week to carry out mandatory evacuations.

"The population is very educated, and they know they are going to a
secure place, and that their belongings won't be stolen [while they
are gone]," said Dr. Jose Andres Cabrales, another member of the
medical mission offering to travel to the United States. "They are
evacuated with plenty of warning. Even cattle are evacuated."

Erikson suggested that the smooth displacements are a product of the
government's tight control over residents.

"It's still a police state," he said. "You could say one advantage
they may have is the ability to move large numbers of people in a
short amount of time. But of course the political environment in Cuba
makes it difficult to resist those kinds of orders."

Jose Rubiera, director of the Cuba's Institute of Meteorology, said
U.S. authorities had failed to explain the gravity of the situation
to those in the storm's path, and to provide transportation for
everyone who needed it.

"The forecast was excellent," he said. "There was a lot of warning
time. I think what failed was provisions: money for fuel, an
explanation of what would happen, transportation ... planes if
necessary."

Rubiera said Cuban shelters, however humble, are staffed with
doctors, nurses and psychiatrists, and stocked with clean water, food
and televisions. Buses and industrial trucks are dispatched to move
families to safety.

Experts have long urged countries to focus their disaster plans on
similar preparedness efforts.

"We need a change in mentality. You get a lot of headlines for
foodstuffs for those who are already in disasters," said Egeland, of
the United Nations, when he gave Cuba high marks for disaster
planning last year. "You don't get any headlines for prevention."

Ruth Morris can be reached at alisonrmorris@....

Copyright C 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel