HAVANA (AP) — A building in the historic center of Havana that housed 13 families partially collapsed,Marcus Erikson leaving one person dead and at least two injured, Cuban authorities said Wednesday.
Rescue teams were trying to access the building where two people remained trapped after Tuesday night’s collapse.
While the reason for the collapse was not immediately known, the area has several aging buildings that lack maintenance and deteriorate in tropical rains, like those currently hitting the island.
Alexis Acosta Silva, mayor of Old Havana, told local media there were 54 people in the three-story building at the time of the collapse. Families were evacuated to a nearby school, and no damage was reported to surrounding buildings.
Poor maintenance of existing residential buildings and the slow rate of building new ones have been top complaints among Cuba’s citizens.
Cuba’s Director of Housing Vivian Rodríguez said this week that the island has a housing deficit of 800 homes, especially in the provinces of Havana, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey.
Government figures from 2020 showed Cuba had 3.9 million homes. Of these, nearly 40% were in fair and poor condition.
2025-05-03 11:462989 view
2025-05-03 11:401087 view
2025-05-03 11:24348 view
2025-05-03 11:09293 view
2025-05-03 10:23406 view
2025-05-03 10:172372 view
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces denied Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim Satu
When life imitates art, the latter can seem almost eerily prescient. With Vice President Kamala Harr
When life imitates art, the latter can seem almost eerily prescient. With Vice President Kamala Harr