Zitat von Miami Herald / AP

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Lesson from Ike: Nobody does evacuations like Cuba

HAVANA --
When Hurricane Ike struck Cuba, Ronald Matos didn't think twice about fleeing his one-room wooden house for a government shelter.

The 34-year-old construction worker and his wife, Emma Jean, got soft beds, free meals, the attention of a doctor and solicitous social workers - and the companionship of other friendly Cubans.

"We passed the night talking and telling stories, because Cubans never lose their smiles or their sense of humor," he said. "There is no electricity, but we are better protected than in our homes."

With an inefficient centralized economy and a U.S. embargo that has stifled trade, Cuba doesn't have resources to build new, hurricane-proof buildings. It doesn't have fleets of Humvees to charge through the floodwaters. Few of its people have cars to flee in, and fewer still can check on loved ones by cell phone.

But if there's one thing the communist island does right, it's evacuations. And in the end, that saves more lives than anything else.

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