Cuban Civil Defense board visits westernmost province of the country

PINAR DEL RIO, Cuba, Apr 25 (ACN) Major General Ramon Pardo Guerra, head of the National General Staff of the Civil Defense, urged today during a comprehensive visit of that body to Pinar del Rio to be prepared in order to take timely measures to avoid loss of human lives and economic resources.

Due to its geographical position, the province is the most affected by tropical cyclones and rainfall, hence the importance of evaluating on the ground the conditions in view of the cyclonic season in the archipelago -from June 1st to November 30th- and the fulfillment of the Civil Defense measures.

This control of the National General Staff plans five-day tours of centers of economic and social interest in the 11 municipalities, to assess the risks in the defense councils in the face of the threat of a hydrometeorological event.

The head of the National Civil Defense General Staff emphasized on the measures conceived to respond to the occurrence of a disaster, due to its importance in the current economic scenario; and on the biosafety of the 26 workers and the protection of the environment.

Pinar del Río has 12 centers for disaster risk reduction and 59 early warning points; meanwhile, according to studies of the most vulnerable municipalities, Sandino is considered to have a very high risk level due to the presence of seven disaster risks and according to the number of exposed population.

From 2002 to date, more than 167,500 homes have been affected by hurricanes in Pinar del Rio, which is why it is important to be attentive during the hurricane season.