With the objective of specifying the preparation to face the possible damages due to the passage of the current tropical storm Ian, which should become a hurricane in the next few hours, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and president of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, said that a meeting by videoconference with authorities from the central and western territories of the country will be held this Saturday morning.

Together with the member of the Political Bureau and Vice President of the Republic, Salvador Valdés Mesa, and members of the Government, the Head of State called for the deployment of all the capacity of our people for this Sunday to say yes in the referendum on the Family Code, and at the same time, we prepare efficiently and effectively to face the passage of a cyclone through our country.

Summarizing the exchange, Díaz-Canel pointed out that, based on Provision Number One of the National Civil Defense Staff, actions have been carried out in the provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud that allow us to start the work of preparation for the confrontation and liquidation of the consequences that we may have due to the effects of the hydrometeorological event.

The first secretary directed to specify the disaster reduction plans, which have been updated after each hurricane and in the Meteor Exercises, to make the confrontation more efficient, including the evacuation of people in vulnerable areas. Photo: Revolution Studios.

The President of the Republic indicated that the first thing is the preservation of people's lives. The fundamental thing, the main effort —he emphasized— must be focused on avoiding the loss of human lives.

However, he recalled, the effort made to preserve the lives of our people is hampered by indiscipline. "These are times," he said, "in which we must call for a lot of social discipline, a lot of responsibility and, above all, a lot of solidarity, because we all need to cooperate, unite and also demand what corresponds to each one."

The first secretary directed to specify the disaster reduction plans, which have been updated after each hurricane and in the Meteor Exercises, to make the confrontation more efficient, including the evacuation of people in vulnerable areas.

He indicated taking into account the resources and forces available in each province that may be affected, to face the event. This —he added— is the time to have well defined the missions that each force will carry out and to have those personnel committed to the situation that we may present.

He urged to increase the rigor in the monitoring of the meteorological situation, of its evolution, to keep us updated on its intensity and to know precisely where the greatest damage would be, to concentrate the confrontation tasks there.

It is very important, he added, the organization of the evacuation, which must be specified from now on, with emphasis on solidarity, concerted evacuation, in family homes, and in shelters.

Díaz-Canel called for prioritizing the cleaning of drains and all the obstacles that may be created in areas through which the waters drain, both in the settlements and on the edges of the roads.

He insisted on the protection of vessels of all types; in the enlistment of the brigades of the Electric Union, Telecommunications, Hydraulic Resources and others that enter immediately to open the way and resolve the damages. He also warned about the evacuation of animals and the advancement of harvests to reduce losses; and on the surveillance of reservoirs.

He directed work in order to guarantee the distribution of food to the population, especially bread, anticipating that, if the electricity is cut, other alternative sources of cooking are used.

The President of the Republic referred to the actions for the electrical assurance of vital objectives, especially those that provide assistance to the population and communications; and pondered the decision taken not to return students to schools, to prevent their movement.

It is also necessary to be, from now on, designing by all the institutions involved an information strategy, including social networks, to guarantee permanent communication, at all times.

The deputy prime ministers, Inés María Chapman Waugh, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, Alejandro Gil Fernández and Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, as well as heads of portfolios and other authorities who reported on the enlistment of their agencies to face the event, participated in the meeting.

Colonel Luis Ángel Macareño Veliz, second chief of the National Civil Defense General Staff, reported on the information phase of the central and western provinces of the country, from Cienfuegos to Pinar del Río, and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud. Photo: Revolution Studios.

Colonel Luis Ángel Macareño Veliz, second chief of the National Civil Defense General Staff, reported on the information phase of the central and western provinces of the country, from Cienfuegos to Pinar del Río, and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud.

He called for paying special attention to the rains in the territories that remain on the right side of the event, since this is where their feeding bands are concentrated, as well as the runoff that follows, especially in mountainous areas.

In the meeting of the country's leadership with authorities of the governments of the territories, the governors of Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque, Matanzas and Cienfuegos, and the mayor of Isla de la Juventud, reported on the actions of preparing to face Ian's passing.

The meeting was inaugurated with a presentation by Doctor of Sciences Celso Pazos Alberdi, general director of the Institute of Meteorology, who detailed the great cyclonic activity that is currently in the Atlantic Ocean, with four active organisms.

He reported that tropical storm Ian, which is currently moving through the seas south of Jamaica, will approach Cuba this Sunday through the seas south of the central and western provinces and may affect the archipelago as a category 1 or 2 hurricane, because it has favorable conditions for it.