Oscar’s Strong Winds and Rains Hit Cuba and the Southeastern Bahamas
Hurricane Oscar, Oct. 21, 2024. X/ @TsarKastik
October 21, 2024 Hour: 9:41 am
It made landfall in Cuba on Sunday afternoon as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
On Monday, Tropical Storm Oscar continued to batter the northeastern tip of Cuba with strong winds and heavy rains, having already impacted the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast of the Bahamas.
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According to the latest data from the U.S.-based National Hurricane Center (NHC), Oscar’s heavy rains are expected to cause flooding through midweek, especially in the Sierra Maestra region of Cuba.
Oscar weakened early Monday morning to a tropical storm over Cuban territory but continues to affect the northeastern part of the island with strong winds and intense rainfall, according to the latest report from the national Meteorological Institute (Insmet).
The eye of Oscar, which made landfall in Cuba on Sunday afternoon as a Category 1 hurricane (on a scale of 5) on the Saffir-Simpson scale, has weakened over the last few hours and now has winds of 85 kilometers per hour (about 53 mph).
The rains, at times accompanied by thunderstorms, have produced accumulations exceeding 300 millimeters (or liters per square meter) in some areas, such as Punta Maisí, which recorded 362.2 millimeters of rainfall in 24 hours.
Between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., the highest rainfall accumulations were reported at the Caujerí Valley meteorological station (278.0 millimeters) and the Moa Dam (131.0 millimeters). No personal or material damages have been reported so far, although it is expected that there will be impacts on the region’s basic infrastructure, housing stock, and agricultural sector.
Oscar has slowed even further and is now moving at about 4 kilometers per hour (about 2.5 mph), leading experts to estimate that its passage through Cuba will last over 24 hours. Cuban experts expect that Oscar will change direction significantly in the coming hours, tracing nearly a “U” turn, from a west-southwest to a north-northeast direction, and will exit Cuban territory toward the Atlantic.
Insmet forecasts that the rains will continue in the coming hours, becoming heavy and intense in some areas and mountainous regions, with accumulations of up to 200 millimeters. Winds are expected to reach up to 90 kilometers per hour (about 56 mph).
Strong waves will also persist along the northern coast of the easternmost provinces, and moderate to strong coastal flooding is expected in low-lying areas of that coastline, including the Baracoa Malecón. Authorities have declared a cyclone warning phase for the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago, Holguín, Granma, and Las Tunas, while Camagüey remains under alert phase.
Oscar’s arrival comes just over two days after Cuba experienced a total blackout, from which recovery has been slow and unstable. Due to the blackout and Hurricane Oscar, the Cuban government has suspended all non-essential administrative and educational activities nationwide until Wednesday. Authorities have also urged the population to stay informed about the storm’s progress.
Oscar became a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday after rapidly intensifying and has already affected the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast of the Bahamas. It is the fifteenth tropical storm of the current Atlantic hurricane season, though the U.S. National Hurricane Center has described it as “small.”
The meteorological services of the U.S. and Cuba had already warned months ago that this Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, would be especially active.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
