Storm damages to housing, crops, electrical lines, schools and hospitals in Cuba will cost about $5 billion, the Cuban government announced.

An approximately 3,000-word statement published in Tuesday's Cuban newspaper Granma marks the first time the Cuban government has quantified the nationwide damage of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

The figures published paint a daunting figure for a nation that was already facing a housing crisis, low agricultural production and shortages of key materials.

The government said more than 444,000 homesAwere damaged, 63,249 destroyed. The number is slightly lower than the figure released by the government over the weekend.

ThatAfigure includes 120,105 homes damaged inIthe western province of Pinar del Rio when Category 4 storm Gustav hit the regionEhard on Aug. 30.

Also:

-PinarEdel Rio lost 137 electrical towers, 4,500 electrical posts and 530 transformers.

-100 percent of the Isle of Youth's electrical lines are down.

-80Ipercent of the Isle of Youth's poultry was affected.

-4,355 tons of food in warehouses and stores were loss.

-WesternICuba saw damage to 314 medical facilities, including 26 hospitals, 18 clinics and 191 doctors' offices.

-1,160Ischools were damaged, including 599 in Pinar del Rio alone.

Ike's Sept. 9 attack on eastern Cuba was nearly as brutal. Seven deaths were blamed on that hurricane,Iwhich also caused severe damage.

-Almost 80,000 acres of bananas were lost, 25,000 acres of other agricultural products.E

-More than half a million chickensEdied, among them 100,000 were quickly sold.

-40,000 tons of sugar has to be reprocessed because it got soaked, andE1.2 million acres of cane are flooded.

-More than 2,500 schools are totally or partially damaged, mostly with damageIto roofs and windows.

"I think those numbers are low," said Teo Babun, of Babun Group Consulting, who has been compilingEhis own storm damage estimates. "They haven't included any figures for infrastructureI- all the dams and bridges. It's a national security issue for them, so it's very difficult to get a full assessment."A

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(c) 2008, The Miami Herald

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