Havana, Oct 21 (EFE).- At least six people died on Monday due to heavy rains and flooding caused by the passage of tropical storm Oscar through the northeastern tip of Cuba, the Civil Defense reported.
Satellite photograph provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) shows the location of tropical storm Oscar in the Atlantic on Oct. 22, 2024. EFE/NOAA-NHC /EDITORIAL USE ONLY /NO SALES /ONLY AVAILABLE TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACCOMPANYING NEWS /MANDATORY CREDIT
The head of the Operations department of the General Staff of Civil Defense, Argenis Perales Pérez, said the deaths occurred in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur, Guantánamo province, without providing further details.
Oscar, which entered Cuba as a category 1 hurricane on Sunday afternoon, spent just over 24 hours over the island, bringing strong winds, intense rains and storm surges.
It made landfall near Baracoa at 6.10 pm local time on Sunday and left Cuban territory near Gibara at around 7.20 pm local time on Monday, according to the Institute of Meteorology (Insmet).
Oscar brought winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour, intense rains with up to 300 millimeters in 24 hours, and storm surges that have caused unprecedented penetrations in some coastal cities such as Baracoa.
However, it significantly weakened throughout its passage through Cuba, currently accompanied by winds of 30-45 kph. The rains and thunderstorms will continue to affect the Caribbean island in the coming hours, especially in mountainous areas, according to Insmet.
There are thousands of evacuees and extensive damage, still to be assessed, to public infrastructure, housing and agriculture – especially coffee farms.
Oscar is the 15th tropical storm of the current hurricane season in the Atlantic and the first to make landfall in Cuba.
The US and Cuban weather services warned months ago that this Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, was going to be especially active.
The last time a major hurricane hit Cuba was in September 2017 when Irma moved parallel to the island’s northern coast and caused 10 deaths and material losses officially valued at nearly $13.2 billion. EFE
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Publish date : 2024-10-21 23:37:00
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