Seven Dead, $10 Billion in Destruction

Cuba death toll from Ike rises to seven

Havana_(dpa) _ Even as Ike continued to wreak destruction across Texas on Saturday, its costs were still being tallied, as Cuba reported another three deaths from the storm.

The general staff of the Cuban military said the death toll had risen to seven, up from the four deaths reported earlier this week.

It estimated damages in the billions of dollars, but said it had not yet been able to tally a final overview.

More than 100,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged.

The representative of Germany's Welthungerhilfe in Cuba, Richard Haep, estimated damages at more than 10 billion dollars.

Ike and its predecessor, Hurricane Gustav, had fully destroyed the banana plantations.

Deputy Agricultural Minister Alcides Lopez said agricultural production had been 90-per-cent destroyed in the eastern provinces of Holguin and Las Tunas.

"After the hurricanes, the entire agricultural sector will have to begin again at zero," Haep said.

Over the past week, Ike killed 72 people on Haiti and, on Saturday, another three people in Texas. dpa fs pr wjh

Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)

Date: 13 Sep 2008

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