My bf said earlier that there was a lot of damage in Varadero but getting back to normality now. I am due to fly there Thursday from UK. Not feeling as optimistic as he is right now but happy he is safe.

Canadian gov't is reporting that all airports in Cuba are closed, no details on reopening. Interesting because it looks like there are still flights scheduled. Anyone else have different info?

They just passed the 24-hour mark without power in Viñales.

Does anyone get a sense from all the reports just how far the water goes into Havana near the prado? When I stayed there last I was on Consulado between Colon and Trocadero... some very lovely women ran the casa. It looks so close to the malecon on the map, I can't imagine their building was spared.

I'm sure he will in the coming days.  I think it's too early to give specifics until they can completely assess what's needed.

I was talking with my wife about this a few days ago.  With the amount of aid that Texas, the rest of the Caribbean including Cuba and now Florida will need, donation fatigue will inevitably set in and become an issue, so any help will be good. 

On the other hand, that is where exists massive corruption.  As in You get XXX amount of dollars for aid but can only spend it with a specified handful of companies, which in turn give kickbacks all down the line, artificially inflating the cost of goods up to a factor of 10 times the actual value.

And to be clear, this practice exists just about everywhere in the Caribbean, not just in Cuba.