They take action in Holguín to reduce disaster risks

Photo: Heidi Calderón Sánchez

The disaster risk reduction week is taking place in the northeastern province of Holguín with the aim of strengthening the territory’s preparation and response capacity to face, in better conditions, the occurrence of natural, technological and health disasters.

During these days, state bodies, organizations, economic and social entities and defense zones carry out activities to reduce or eliminate vulnerabilities in their environments, in accordance with the provisions of the directive issued by the president of the National Defense Council, for disaster risk reduction management in the country.

Lieutenant Colonel Yulieski Suárez Franco, head of the Civil Defense body in the province, said that in each territory an activity plan is carried out that includes the clarification and updating of documentation and early warning procedures, sanitization tasks neighborhoods and towns, drainage of ditches, drains and other stormwater, maintenance of sanitary networks, cleaning of pits and elimination of micro-landfills, as well as the preparation of the means and forces to act in the event of earthquakes and tidal waves.

The actions, he said, are carried out in accordance with the assurances in each scenario, also taking into account that a very active cyclonic season is foreseen, since the formation of 20 tropical cyclones is forecast, of which 11 could reach the category of hurricanes. The probability that Cuba will be affected by at least one tropical cyclone and one hurricane is high, 90 and 85 percent, respectively.

Suárez Franco said that fire protection activities are also carried out to raise the risk perception of the population and socioeconomic entities.

These days will give way to the Popular Meteor Exercise 2024, scheduled for May 18 and 19, the latter date coinciding with National Defense Day, days that will focus attention on the preparation of the management bodies and I already manage practical activities in residential areas and economic entities.