Hurricane Irma shakes Havana's crumbling buildings

Havana

ROYDIS Valdés' dilapidated home on Animas Street in the densely packed centre of Old Havana had been declared uninhabitable by Cuba's Communist authorities years ago, his neighbours said. After Hurricane Irma shook the Cuban capital - a crumbling architectural jewel of the Caribbean - Mr Valdés and his brother were found under a collapsed wall, just two of the seven people killed by falling buildings on the island.

Havana's historic centre, where baroque Spanish colonial-era palaces butt shoulders with sleek Art Deco apartment buildings, was already crumbling before it took a lashing from Irma - a visible reminder of the hardship caused by a 57-year US trade embargo.