Cuban authorities have evacuated over 66,000 residents from Guantanamo and other areas in eastern Cuba as devastating impacts from Hurricane Oscar start to manifest with a new tropical storm threatening the region. Torrential rains and potentially dangerous weather characterized the storm just two weeks after Hurricane Oscar left its destruction path.
The Category 4 hurricane struck Guantanamo’s Baracoa municipality on October 20, weakening as it headed west. Powerful winds and flooding left eight dead, destroyed over 12,000 homes and brought unprecedented damage to infrastructure and agriculture in Guantanamo, Imías, Maisí, and San Antonio del Sur. The devastating impact has left the region vulnerable, with local authorities mobilizing extensively in preparation for more adverse weather.
The rains have lashed neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico due to the low-pressure area lying over the Atlantic. Now these weather conditions are bringing rains to eastern Cuba as the Cuban Meteorological Institute pointed out that the warm sea temperatures and the high atmospheric humidity can give rise to a Tropical Cyclone, officially classified as ‘Potential Tropical Cyclone 18′ in the following days.
The Civil Defense General Staff has put Guantanamo and its neighboring provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Las Tunas, Holguín, and Granma on alert, declaring an “informative phase” to coordinate emergency response efforts.
Help from local law enforcement and emergency services allowed authorities to evacuate residents from seven of ten municipalities in Guantanamo to safety. Families are shown preparing to evacuate their homes, especially those in the lower zones that had been among the worst affected by floodwaters from Hurricane Oscar, which reached unprecedented levels throughout many parts of Guantanamo and will face many challenges while rebuilding as other dangers lurk.
The country’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, was very active on social media as well, admitting that the storm situation is “extremely worrying” and saying, “We are constantly monitoring the weather situation in Cuba and its possible evolution.” Indeed, Cuba’s government remains very concerned about residents’ safety, especially when there are still shortages of fuel and medicine affecting the country during its worst economic crisis since the 1990s. The current economic conditions have caused power outages, medicine scarcities, and mass migration.
With forecasters predicting further heavy downpours, residents of Cuba are on their guard once more. The country’s civil defense machinery is ready to go for an additional round of evacuations and relief work to ensure safety in the face of looming storms.
