Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Camagüey, October 28. - In the Santa Rita community, located in the municipality of Nuevitas in northern Camagüey province, protecting the population is prioritized amid the danger of coastal flooding and sea penetration caused by Hurricane Melissa.
Up to that location, where more than 300 people out of about 700 to be sheltered are already in safe sites, the highest authorities of the Provincial Defense Council (CDP, for its acronym in Spanish) arrived on Monday.
In exchanging with the defense structure in that zone, Walter Simón Noris, president of the CDP, insisted on speeding up the transfer process for people, especially the most vulnerable, to shelters or homes of relatives and friends, with the aim of preserving human lives.
He likewise insisted on discipline, avoiding negligent behaviors such as fishing and alcohol consumption, among other actions that could have fatal outcomes.
Jorge Enrique Sutil Sarabia, vice president of that body and head of Civil Defense in the province, added the importance of protecting residents in homes classified as fair or poor condition from wind impacts.
During the tour of that locality, they checked at the 26 de Julio Cement Company compliance with the planned measures for the current cyclonic alarm phase, to prevent damage to one of the most impactful works being executed in the country.
Rudy García Arce, general director of the mentioned entity, specified that ahead of the imminent passage of the cyclonic system, the investment was halted and computing equipment and tools were placed in safe locations.
Likewise, he commented that motor vehicles are parked, except those used for tasks of the Municipal Defense Council, and on Monday the transfer of the 367 foreign advisors to hotels in the city of Camagüey was carried out.
In the preheater tower, the cement silo, and the raw mill, three large cranes remain that pose no danger from wind forces and possible flooding; meanwhile, he emphasized that in the compressor room a wall over one meter high was built to contain sea penetration in that work object.
Preserving the economy's assets, Simón Noris emphasized, also constitutes an essential priority, and in that regard, he considered that timely decisions have been adopted at the company, though he insisted on protecting the factory and its resources, as well as resuming the schedule once weather conditions allow.
Also at the 10 de Octubre Thermal Power Plant, they verified the measures implemented by that collective to face the meteorological event and the strategy planned for a possible disconnection from the National Electroenergetic System (SEN, for its acronym in Spanish).
Jorge Luis Maceira Esteva, director of that thermal plant, pointed out that the generator group is prepared to perform a black start, once islands are created, if necessary.
Currently, only unit 5 is in service, as maintenance work is underway on block 6, which has included repairing the circulation pump, regenerative air heaters, a medium-pressure heating flange that had a leak in the turbine, as well as manual cleaning in the boiler passage areas where it gets dirtiest the most, and replacing six gas inlet and outlet gaskets that showed significant deterioration.
The mentioned unit, before starting maintenance, contributed about 80 megawatts, and it is expected that upon coming online in the coming hours, it will raise efficiency to 95 or 100 megawatts.
Due to the proximity of the powerful Hurricane Melissa, he noted that the dismantling of block 4 has been halted, a process that was 53 percent complete. (Text and photo: Yadira Núñez Figueredo/ACN)
