BuaNews (Tshwane)
9 October 2008
Pretoria — Cabinet has decided that the South African government, working with civil society, should participate in the global humanitarian assistance effort to support the people of Cuba, following the devastation caused by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
The hurricanes left seven people dead; 3.1 million people were evacuated; 444 000 houses were extensively damaged and agricultural fields were destroyed in Cuba.
"The Cuban government and its people must be commended for the extensive evacuation effort which saved millions of lives.
"The South African Government will work with civil society to ensure that a national humanitarian assistance programme is launched to assist the people of Cuba," said Government Spokesperson Themba Maseko on Thursday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, which has already pledged R3 million to this effort, will be the coordinating department.
The hurricanes have killed several people in its path through Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba, triggering heavy rainfalls and flooding.
Before hitting Cuba, Hurricane Ike killed 66 people on Haiti, a nation already saturated by storms Hanna and Gustav.
Cuban media has been reporting widespread damage throughout the eastern provinces with some parts of the island having been swamped by up to 10 inches of rain, with rivers swelling and huge waves along the coast.
Hurricane Ike, which occurred in early September, battered the Texas and Louisiana coasts and came ashore at Galveston as a strong Category 2 with 177km/h winds, before striking Houston and slogging across the US midsection.
The eye missed the centre of Houston, but destroyed much in places like the resort barrier island of Bolivar Peninsula, just east of Galveston.
Ike caused minimal damage to most oil refineries along the Gulf Coast, but a few suffered more than others.
Companies were preparing to restart operations at the 14 refineries in Texas and Louisiana that remained shut by the storm.
In August, Hurricane Gustav assaulted western Cuba as a powerful Category 4 hurricane as Cubans made anxious last-minute preparations to deal with the deadly storm.
Hurricane Gustav landed on the US state of Louisiana at the beginning of August and made its landfall on the southwest of New Orleans city, as a Category two, moving about 177km per hour.
As a result of Hurricane Gustav hitting the area, 96 percent of oil production and 82 percent of natural gas output in the United States Gulf region were reportedly closed.
According to the US Minerals Management Service then, at least nine refineries, whose combined production accounted for about 15 percent of the country's total refining capacity, were shut down before Hurricane Gustav's arrival.
At the time, all offshore oil production in the region were halted.
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