HAVANA, Cuba. – The President of the National Defense Council, Army General Raul Castro Ruz, headed a meeting with Party leaders, the State and the Government on this Wednesday night, in which they assessed the damage caused by Hurricane Irma and they pointed out the actions to be developed during the recovery stage.

Raul recognized the hard work deployed in each of the places affected by the devastating meteorological event, which hit virtually the entire island. We have worked very hard, he considered, and if any profit we can get from this difficult situation is to immediately get the whole experience to prepare us better.

He warned on the present cyclonic season extending until November 30, which has been described as intense, an obvious product of climate change and before which we must adapt.

The Army General called to continue working tirelessly, to face problems with serenity and to keep the people informed by all possible ways on the situation the country faces.

In the meeting it was reported that the trajectory of this hurricane through several provinces forced to evacuate almost two million people, 86 percent of them in homes of neighbors and relatives. The head of the National Civil Defense Staff, Major General (r) Ramon Pardo Guerra, said that more than twenty six thousand remain still in evacuation centers.

After Pardo Guerra, the National Bureau of Statistics and Information is working on the assessment of the damage, which will be preliminarily in the coming days.
Alfredo Lopez Valdes, Minister of Energy and Mines, considered that the strongest and most difficult to solve impact in the sector was suffered by Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant in Matanzas, whose house of circulation of seawater, key in the cooling system, was shattered by the swell.

Highly specialized staff work there to compensate for the damage and to return to operation in the coming days.