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• 09 / 16 / 2008

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Important sectors like housing, communication, health and education are receiving a great boost by workers from those spheres and the general population.

According official Cuban television reports, communications suffered a hard blow with the total destruction of two medium wave and television towers on the Isle of Youth.

About 9,316 telecommunication services were affected in the western region, of them 7,797 in the special municipality and 1,021 in Pinar del Rio province.

The two storms ravaged nearly 314 public health buildings in this region, including 26 hospitals, 18 policlinics, 191 doctor's offices, 14 retirement homes and senior citizens centers and 42 drug stores.

Some 1,160 schools and educational centers were also damaged, among them 599 in Pinar del Rio, 218 in Havana province, 225 in Havana and 87 in the Isle of Youth.

The Higher Education Minister also reported damages in the university centers of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus, Matanzas, Villa Clara, Holguin, and the Institute of Agricultural Science of Havana.

One of the most important impacts provoked by Gustav and Ike was in the housing sector, with over 444,000 seriously damaged, of them 63,249 beyond repair, as well as other damages.

(PL)