The year 2005 was a watershed for disaster management worldwide and also in Cuba. Representatives of every continent met in Japan, hammering out the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015), an international blueprint for risk reduction strategies and a guide for developing national platforms. In Cuba, a spate of devastating hurricanes the year before led to a reassessment of how the country was managing disasters, and to the 2005 comprehensive overhaul of national, provincial, and municipal disaster planning.