Life quickly returned to Cuba after Hurricane Irma 0
The bar of a hotel in Varadero, Cuba serves tourists on September 10.
On September 10, tourists in the coastal tourist paradise of Varadero, Cuba, began partying while some people were still wading in floodwaters on waist-deep water streets in central Havana, Reuters.
One day after superstorm Irma, both tourists and Cubans breathed a sigh of relief because the superstorm did not cause more serious damage to this island of 11 million people.
Josephine Breslin, a 49-year-old British tourist, spent the night lying on an air mattress in her hotel bathroom when Hurricane Irma, with winds of 195 km/h, passed through Cuba’s top tourist destination.
After a Sunday morning helping clean up after a storm, she felt it was time to relax.
Hurricane Irma landed in Cuba on September 9 with winds of 260 km/h, causing heavy damage to tourism infrastructure.
Before the storm landed, Cuba conducted a large evacuation.
The capital Havana was not directly affected by Hurricane Irma, but people’s homes in the central district near the sea were flooded after 11-meter high waves overcame the seawall, turning the street into a large swimming pool.
Cuban children play in flood water.
On September 10, some Cubans threw themselves into flooded streets.
At the Barcelo Hotel, Ms. Breslin endlessly praised the Cubans using buses to evacuate themselves and thousands of others before the storm or the hotel staff bringing sandwiches to her room during the storm.
A group of mostly British tourists joined hands on the morning of September 10 to clean the swimming pool, put furniture displaced by the storm back to its original position, and remove fallen trees.
Cuba’s capital turned into a ‘giant swimming pool’ because of Hurricane Irma
Cuba’s capital transformed into a giant swimming pool after Hurricane Irma
The sounds of the summer hit Despacito played again on the speakers and the hotel staff prepared an entertaining dinner that included salsa.
`We turn on music to reduce stress and help guests feel better,` said Juan Carlos Varcas, a 30-year-old Cuban salsa teacher at the hotel.
After a night of lying in the bathtub listening to the storm roaring outside, British tourist Dave Kelsey allowed himself to enjoy a few glasses of wine, with a friend dressed in women’s clothing and prepared to jump into the pool with the encouragement of his friend.
Cuba’s tourism industry may take weeks, even months, to recover after Hurricane Irma.
