For Arnie Coro CO2KK, Hurricane “Gustav” reminds him of one… of the hurricanes that passed through Havana en 1944.…The tornado winds were measured up to 320 kilometers per hour.… according to professional storm watchers, an evaluation of the damages indicates that they must have reached 400 kilometers per hour.…. Since we were making many advance preparations here, evacuations were made in time and the people sought refuge in strong store shelters; THERE WAS NO LOSS OF LIFE, AND ONLY 19 INJURED SLIGHTLY, WHO ARE NOW BACK IN THEIR HOMES.…..

.….The information received from the President of the “Radio Club Municipal” of Especial Isla de la Juventud, which was severely damaged by Hurricane GUSTAV, and suffered the downing of all the transmission towers for radio, TV, and telecommunications.……

.…Ham Radio stations were set up in all the vital places, such as the Control Center of Civil Defense Against Catastrophes, the Hospital, Fire Station, and wherever else it was considered necessary to count on this alternate jeans of communication, which for the second time in history, not only were used radio/telephones, but also means of digital transmission.…

…I had great success with the L style inclined antenna, which needs no coaxial cable and had to transmit clearly on the 40 meter band, permitting me to link up with the 2‑meter repeater of the city of Havana (to which our colleagues had access who are in the Eastern part of Pinar del Río, the most severely affected area on the Island of Cuba.) Thus we were able to make contact with our colleague Pedro Alemán CO1HA of the Control Center of Civil Defense Against Catastrophes in Pinar del Río…

…In Pinar del Río alone, there were more than 80,000 homes affected by the hurricane, and the systems of land communication had been severely damaged. Thus, the communication by means of ham radio operators was needed, especially portable stations to reach many areas…

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