diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
index 675f0e5..8f48276 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -52,13 +52,11 @@ jobs:
           terraform init
           terraform apply -auto-approve
 
-      - name: Decrypt tfvars file, Initialize and Plan Terraform
+      - name: Decrypt tfvars file and Initialize Terraform
         working-directory: ./terraform
         run: |
           gpg --quiet --batch --yes --decrypt --passphrase="$SECRET_PASSPHRASE" --output variables.tfvars variables.tfvars.gpg
           terraform init -reconfigure
-          terraform plan -out=tfplan -var-file="variables.tfvars" -refresh-only
-          terraform show -json tfplan | jq '.resource_changes | length'
         env:
           AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
           AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
@@ -66,9 +64,8 @@ jobs:
           SECRET_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.SECRET_PASSPHRASE }}
 
       - name: Apply Terraform changes
-        if: steps.tfplan.outputs.change_count != '0'
         working-directory: ./terraform
-        run: terraform apply -auto-approve "tfplan"
+        run: terraform apply -auto-approve -var-file="variables.tfvars"
         env:
           AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
           AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
diff --git a/terraform/scripts/empty_bucket.sh b/terraform/scripts/empty_bucket.sh
index b636389..055f542 100755
--- a/terraform/scripts/empty_bucket.sh
+++ b/terraform/scripts/empty_bucket.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ set -e
 BUCKET_NAME="$1"
 AWS_REGION="$2"
 
+# Check if the bucket exists
+if ! aws s3api head-bucket --bucket "$BUCKET_NAME" --region "$AWS_REGION" 2>/dev/null; then
+  echo "Error: Bucket $BUCKET_NAME does not exist in region $AWS_REGION."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 echo "Deleting all objects and versions from bucket $BUCKET_NAME in region $AWS_REGION"
 
 # Delete all objects