Hurricane Oscar leaves six dead in Cuba after its devastating passage

Hurricane Oscar that hit Cuba last Sunday, October 21 caused the death of six people, President Miguel Díaz-Canel reported on Monday. who added that the climate phenomenon left severe effects in the province of Guantánamo, in the east of the island.

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“Unfortunately, according to preliminary information, there is the loss of six human lives in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur,” said the president. in a broadcast of the Evening Star News.

The hurricane hit the province of Guantánamo hard, specifically near the city of Baracoa, around 5:50 p.m. with sustained winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour, before weakening to a tropical storm.

The heavy rains and strong winds caused flooding, landslides and severe damage to infrastructure, leaving thousands of people homeless and causing the collapse of several roads and communication networks. Baracoa and other areas of eastern Cuba were the most affected by winds and precipitation, with records of up to 92 liters per square meter in some areas.

“FAR and MININT lead rescues in those Guantanamo municipalities, where there are still inaccessible areas. All #Cuba
based on Guantánamo”, the president wrote on his account on the social network X. He also noted that brigades are being organized for the speedy recovery of the affected provinces.

The impact of Oscar has been aggravated by a serious energy crisis that was already affecting the island before the arrival of the cyclone. For several days, the majority of the Cuban population has been without electricity supply due to the failure of the country’s main energy plant, which has further complicated recovery efforts after the hurricane. According to the government, electricity service could begin to be restored as early as Monday night, although some areas could remain without power until Tuesday.

President Díaz-Canel reiterated that the United States economic blockade has hindered obtaining the supplies and spare parts necessary to repair the electrical system, stating that “we do not have the fuel we need, and we have not been able to make repairs either.” Likewise, he warned that “vandalism” will not be tolerated in reference to the protests that arose in some areas of the country due to prolonged blackouts.

The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted that, although Oscar has already been downgraded to a tropical storm, it will continue to cause heavy rain in the coming hours, with the risk of flash flooding and landslides, especially in the mountainous region of the Sierra Maestra. The storm is expected to continue moving north toward the Bahamas. to leave Cuban territory during the night of Monday or in the early hours of Tuesday.

Despite the severity of the damage, the Cuban authorities have highlighted the solidity of their civil defense system, which has been key to mitigating the worst effects of previous hurricanes. However, the energy crisis and economic challenges facing the country make recovery more complicated this time.

The Cuban people have shown once again their capacity to resist natural disasters, although the impact of Oscar reveals the vulnerability of the island to increasingly intense meteorological phenomena.

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