Havana, August 29 (RHC)-- Experts with the Cuban Water Resources Institute announced a cloud seeding program as of September 15th as part of measures to relieve hard hit areas by the prolonged drought and lack of rainfall.

The program aims at increasing rainfall from clouds formed over the Cauto River in eastern Cuba to favor the flow of water to nearby dams, said engineer Yosmany Gil. The program will run for two months while its effectiveness will depend on the clouds that will be targets of silver iodide, which facilitates the process.

Cuba has previously used the cloud-seeding technique to increase precipitation, said expert Argelio Fernandez, who added that a Russian Yak-40 aircraft will be used in the eastern part of the country, the area hardest hit by drought.

Fernandez said that the period between January to August has been the driest since 1901. The current drought is expected to extend until April next year, according to predictions, thus a series of measures have been taken in coordination with the Civil Defense Staff, including the monitoring of water consumption by state and non-state entities, the reduction of leaks and rehabilitation of water supply networks and the adjustment of the water distribution service according to different territories.