Cuba evacuated residents from its western low-lying coasts. The storm was considered the strongest hurricane to threaten the island nation since that of October 1926. Three thousand people sought refuge at El Capitolio, the nation's capitol building. U.S. soldiers stationed at San Antonio de los Baños Airfield were moved to the Cuban army's headquarters in Havana. Pan American World Airways canceled flights to and from Cuba in advance of the hurricane. Storm warnings in the United States were first issued for the Florida Keys on the morning of October 16. The Weather Bureau also noted a serious threat to western Cuba, the Yucatán Channel, and the Yucatán Peninsula. The first hurricane warnings were issued on the morning of October 18. At the height of the storm's impacts on Florida, hurricane warnings encompassed the Florida coast from Cedar Key on the Gulf coast to Fernandina Beach on the peninsula's Atlantic coast.