Flooding in Havana – a sign of things to come?

Havana is a beautiful, evocative, charming, intriguing city. Yes, many buildings are in desperate need of repair and the holes in the roads need filling in but the city has a faded, pastel-coloured splendour that provides a stunning backdrop to many a photo snapped by a tourist or a Saturday night party on the Malecón. But last weekend’s floods and the ones the weekend before and those the week before that should concern everyone who, like me, loves this place. Not because the floods meant the photo couldn’t be taken or the party couldn’t start but because of what they might presage for Havana’s future.

The floods are caused by either torrential rain or the sea washing over the sea wall. Both cause damage although I suspect the salt in the seawater is more corrosive. There’s an immediate impact – on transport, the economy, people’s lives, kids’ education – and a longer-term hit on the buildings. Friends here tell me they are most worried when the sun comes out as the drying process can damage poorly-built or poorly-maintained houses. Some collapse.

All of that is already a concern. But it seems to me we’re only likely to see more of this. With sea levels rising worldwide, the sea will inevitably breach the Malecón more and more often. And a changing climate is predicted to lead to more extreme weather events. That means more days when El Vedado, Miramar, Centro Habana, Jaimanitas and other areas at risk are under water. More days when there’s no bus and you can’t get to work or get home or get to school. More damage to Havana’s houses, roads and infrastructure. More damage to this beautiful city.

What can be done? I’m afraid I don’t have the answer. I wish I did. I know others such as the Grupo de Desarrollo Integral de la Capital and the Oficina del Historiador have been looking at this. Perhaps they have worked it out.

Under the World Heritage Convention, we all have a duty to preserve the world’s heritage sites which include Old Havana. UNESCO has a role to play in supporting the Cuban authorities to find a solution.

What we need to do is define the problem, work out some answers and find the resources to fund the work. There’ll be some great ideas out there: new sea walls to break up the waves before they reach the Malecón, sophisticated drainage systems so the sea and rain drain away more quickly, even salt-resistant buildings perhaps. Some of them may not work; some of them will. New technology will have new answers. Old technology might too. But it will all be expensive. So all you scientists, architects, physicists, historians, environmentalists, residents, businessmen, investors, schoolchildren, tourists, Malecón party-goers, diplomats, all of you who care about Havana, we all need to get together and tackle this. Ideally tomorrow. Before it’s too late.