Socialist Cuba: World leader in hurricane management

On Jan. 20, Workers World featured an article by Fred Goldstein titled "Cuba leads the world in managing disasters." It was written in connection with the tsunami that took place in the Indian Ocean and killed hundreds of thousands of people.

The article was based upon an extensive and detailed 63-page report by the London-based Oxfam titled "Cuba: Weathering the storm." It conclusively demonstrated that socialist Cuba, because of its widespread social equality, its high degree of popular organization and the leadership’s overriding concern for human life, is superior even to the wealthiest capitalist government in the world in protecting its population from hurricanes.

In 2002 during category 4 hurricane Michelle, Cuba evacuated 712,000 people and only 4 people died, although 8,700 homes were destroyed and 90,000 were damaged. During the category 5 hurricane Ivan in 2004, Cuba evacuated nearly 2 million people—almost 15 percent of the population. No one was killed.

Read the full article: Cuba leads the world in managing disasters
from Workers World, Jan. 20, 2005