Wholly absorbed in celebrating its heroes from the Beijing Olympics, Jamaica must now tend its wounds after Hurricane Gustav. The story repeats itself almost every year. After Ivan (2004), Katrina (2005) and Dean last year, Gustav has killed 11 people and caused extensive damage on the island.
The Jamaica Gleaner reports that damage to road infrastructure alone is put at 3 billion Jamaican dollars (about 30 million euros), made worse by the destruction of several bridges.
As it prepares to hit the American coast (the population of New Orleans has been evacuated), Gustav has already claimed 66 victims in Haiti and 8 in the Dominican Republic. In Cuba, only material damage is reported.