The Provincial Defense Council of Ciego de Ávila activated a plan of measures since Friday night with a view to guarantee the protection of human lives and material goods against the possible impacts that the cyclonic organism Elsa can leave as it passes through the territory of Ciego de Ávila.

Regarding the monitoring that is maintained on the trajectory of the tropical event, Oscar Benedico Rodríguez, director of the Provincial Meteorological Center, said that the forecasting models coincide, largely, that its movement is by the seas to the south of the territory of Ciego de Ávila.

The greatest severity, mainly associated with the heavy rains, is expected to occur during the evening of Sunday and the early hours and morning of Monday, Benedico Rodríguez explained.

On the other hand, Pedro Rodríguez Mora, technical director of the Hydraulic Exploitation Company in Ciego de Ávila, commented that hydrological surveillance is being strengthened in the face of the degree of humidity currently presented by the soils, which increases the risk of flooding due to the increased runoff.

The province has a capacity to receive 111 million 919,000 cubic meters in its reservoirs and natural lagoons, and the underground basins are at 84 percent of their capacity, Rodríguez Mora clarified.

To guarantee the supply of water during and after the passage of the cyclone, the generating sets installed in the pumping stations are ready and the roofs of these infrastructures are protected, likewise, there is sufficient coverage of chemical products such as chlorine for the treatment of the vital liquid for the next few days, Wilmer Matos Lambert, general director of the Provincial Aqueduct and Sewerage Company, said.

Regarding the assurance of such essential services, Carlos Luis Garrido Pérez, president of the Provincial Defense Council, held that the cleaning of ditches, drains and sewers must be accelerated, in addition to guarantee alternative sources for the supply of water to the population in cases of breakdowns. 

Generating sets are set up both for the generation of the electro-energy system and those destined to the assurance of vital socio-economic centers, and mixed brigades are prepared to solve the effects on the electrical networks. 

The sale of more than 2,000 gas containers to the population of the main municipality is also expected on Saturday. 

Orlando Pérez Pedreira, delegate of Agriculture in the province, said that as preventive measures more than 40,000 head of cattle are taken to high areas, farm houses are dismantled and all possible productions are collected for sale to the town. 

For this weekend, the service hours of the wineries will be extended to the maximum so that consumers can access their regulated family basket. 

On the subject of food, Garrido Pérez stressed the fundamental importance of its protection in warehouses and refrigerators to avoid costly losses, especially taking into account the current economic scenario of the country. 

At the meeting, it was called to activate the Housing procedures offices to later act in the solution of the damages to the housing fund and continue the production of construction elements until the weather conditions allow it. 

The tense epidemiological scenario of the territory due to COVID-19 must be taken into account for evacuation, therefore it is essential to maintain sanitary measures for those who are housed in state institutions or in the homes of family and friends. 

"The tasks, as always before the occurrence of extreme meteorological events, will be directed firstly to the protection of human lives and secondly to the preservation of material resources," Garrido Pérez emphasized.