Meteoro Exercise in Cuba Proves Capabilities against Disasters

Through Meteoro 2014 Popular Exercise, Cuba demonstrated its capacity to face natural or technological disasters previous the start, on June 1st, of the hurricane season.
A joint action of the Council of National Defense and its provincial and municipal structures, as well as bodies of the central administration, showed in detail the possibilities of reducing the impact of hydro-meteorological events or earthquakes.

Each of the actions of the two-day training took into account the decrease of the weaknesses identified in the hazard, vulnerability and risk studies, as well as economic losses.

In the case of Havana, Mercedes López Acea, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in the province and vice president of the State Council, called for a highest possible quality of vector control in health areas.

In turn, in the Isle of Youth, the day was used to increase hygiene in trenches prone to cause flooding in low-lying areas of Nueva Gerona city and maintain a favorable hygienic-epidemiological environment.

Meanwhile, Sancti Spiritus released its Forest Engineering Special Group devoted to moving obstacles apart from routes in case of hurricanes and heavy rains, with personnel and equipment from agriculture, construction and communal services entities.

In the meantime Ciego de Avila insisted on reducing vulnerabilities, prioritizing vector control and eliminating health gaps, while Holguín and Santiago de Cuba did the same through their Rescue Teams.

Granma province took steps during the exercise due to the presence of water saturated plains and dams depressed by recent drought.