Russ Palumbo, of the Natural Disasters Preparedness Council, says the prospect of Cuba evacuating these provinces is not as daunting a task as it may seem, “Cuba is actually very well prepared for an emergency such as this, even better than the United States in some ways. With the high number of tropical storms and hurricanes that hit Cuba each year, evacuations of even millions of people are quite common. Cuba even provides for the evacuation of family pets and veterinary services in evacuation centers. Since the western provinces receive the highest number of tropical storms on average, this evacuation will be something most of the people have done several times before.”

Cuban officials provided no information on the severity of the infestation, or estimates on the total number of residents infected or to be evacuated. The United Nations does not list a criterion for determining an area “infested,” however, generally the term is used when 1% or more of the general population is infected. Based on this assumption, the western provinces of Cuba could have as many as 3,000 to 4,000 Reanimates.

The crisis in Cuba highlights the growing problem of Haitian refugees spreading the Mortosis infection across the Caribbean by boat. The Coast Guard reports a steady increase in the number of “zombie boats” found drifting at sea, and “floaters,” reanimated corpses found floating in the ocean, possibly tossed overboard after they succumbed to the infection. One “floater” was found as far north as Miami, attacking an infecting Coast Guard crewman Steven Alohma in May.

The White House says it is increasing Coast Guard patrols in the Straits of Florida as a precaution to an influx of possibly infected refugees seeking to enter the United States. The United States has no plans to lift its embargo on Cuba in light of the crisis, but is willing to provide humanitarian assistance if asked.