HAVANA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) has allocated a donation of 4.8 million U.S. dollars to Cuba to help it recover from devastations caused by hurricanes Gustav and Ike, official Cuban daily Granma said Tuesday.

    The donation from the Central Emergency Response Fund (UN-CERF)will be used to provide temporary housing, food and clean water and improve sanitary conditions and restore damaged agriculture in east Cuba, it said.

    Authorities reinforced sanitary controls to prevent possible epidemic outbreak across the affected areas following downpours amid the hurricanes.

    Special efforts were made to wipe out the aedes aegypti mosquito which causes dengue. Alert was also high to avoid the spread of hepatitis, leptospirosis and rabies.

    People across the affected regions also joined the government efforts to prevent the disease by voluntarily clearing up the rubbles left over by the hurricanes.

    Official statistics said Gustav and Ike together had caused damages estimated at about 5 billion U.S. dollars.