Over 600,000 people in Cuba facing shortages of safe drinking water

China

Over 600,000 people in Cuba facing shortages of safe drinking water

2024-09-15 16:11 Last Updated At：20:37

More than 600,000 people in Cuba are struggling with access to safe drinking water, with authorities ramping up repairs in the breakdown-prone water system to ease the crisis.

Cuban authorities said the current water supply problem stems from breakdowns at water pumping stations due to technical failures and constant power outages.

Access to drinking water has been an issue on the island of Cuba for some time. This has forced people to endure a hot and uncomfortable summer season.

"We have a serious water supply situation. I can't mention a specific district, the water shortage affects us all. I live near here and my case is also critical," said Mario Mustelier, a Havana resident.

"I've experienced difficult times here because water has only been supplied once every four days to this zone. I've had to go to bathe or eat at one of my sons' places, because I live alone here," said Laudelina Piero, another resident in Havana.

Laudelina said water shortages have led her sons to use containers to store water and connect them to the house pipes for some relief.

The island's old thermal power plants have faced fuel supply shortages and equipment failures, causing power outages which affect both the industry and the residents.

After authorities made repairs to water pumping equipment, some districts in Havana have already seen an improvement in access to water.

"The problems seem to be solved. Water supply is returning to normal," said Havana resident Maria Teresa Batista.

Meanwhile, water resources workers are repairing and mounting new pipes and pumps to bring the water supply system back on its feet.

Shenzhou-23 astronauts enter Tiangong space station, meet Shenzhou-21 crew

The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-23 spaceship have entered the country's Tiangong space station and met with their astronaut colleagues early Monday morning, as they now begin an in-orbit crew handover.

Mission commander Zhu Yangzhu and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying successfully entered the station's core module Tianhe after the spaceship made a fast automated rendezvous and docked with the Tianhe module at 02:45 (Beijing Time) on Monday.

The three Shenzhou-21 crew members opened the hatch at 05:13 (Beijing Time) and greeted the new arrivals, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The six astronauts then took group pictures for the eighth in-orbit get-together in China's aerospace history.

Notably, one of the Shenzhou-23 crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

The Shenzhou-23 spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 23:08 (Beijing Time) on Sunday.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.