Photo of the day: A huge pothole becomes a waterfall and a trap for passers-by

Havana/A huge sinkhole at the intersection of Amenidad and Cruz del Padre, in the Havana municipality of Cerro, has become a dangerous trap for pedestrians and vehicles. The pavement has a large opening into which the water accumulated by the rain falls like a waterfall. Around the hole, the sewer grates appear displaced, the asphalt is destroyed and garbage accumulates among the rubble.

A few meters away, several pedestrians try to cross the street, which has become a succession of puddles and potholes. A woman lifts her shopping cart to cross the flooded area, while other passers-by look for a place to put their feet without ending up in the water.

The danger is not hypothetical. In February 2025, Jonathan Oliva, a 12-year-old boy, died after being sucked down a sewer during the floods that affected Havana. The minor was returning from school when he was swept away by the water in the area of ​​Villanueva and Vía Blanca, in Luyanó, near the Miguel Enríquez hospital. His body was found the next day.

The tragedy shocked the capital and once again put the deterioration of the sewage system on the table. On a tour of the flooded areas, this newspaper observed numerous accumulations of garbage that were blocking the drains, while the water was over a meter high in some points.

Another deadly episode occurred in September 2022, when a girl died swept away by the current while trying to cross a flooded street with his cousin in the municipality of Cotorro. A man managed to rescue one of the minors, but could not save the other. Some witnesses then claimed that both had been dragged into a sewer.

Vehicles have also ended up trapped in the huge holes in Havana streets. In June 2024, a motorcycle and a car fell into a deep crater covered by water at the intersection of Infanta and Ayestarán, also in Cerro. Neighbors helped recover the motorcycle and no injuries were reported.

In April of that same year, another gigantic pothole In the same municipality it had become an improvised pool where several children bathed. According to residents, it had been open for about five years without the authorities solving the problem. The hole was so large that it prevented the passage of larger vehicles.

The problem reappeared with special severity in July of this year, when rains and clogged sewers They formed a river of dirty water in Cuatro Caminos, in Central Havana. A neighbor then expressed her fear that another child would be swallowed by the current, as had happened with Jonathan Oliva.

In Amenidad and Cruz del Padre, meanwhile, water falls into the sinkhole, among waste, displaced gratings and broken pavement edges. A few steps away, daily life tries to continue its course, as if resigned to the fact that this and other disasters are an irremediable part of normality.