HAVANA — Tropical Storm Oscar dumped heavy rain across eastern Cuba on Monday after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on the island already beleaguered by a massive power outage.
Its maximum sustained winds were blowing at 50 mph (85 kph) on Monday as Oscar moved west at 2 mph (4 kph). The storm was located about 5 miles (10 kilometres) east of Guantánamo, Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.
Up to 14 inches (36 centimetres) of rain were forecast across eastern Cuba, with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches (51 centimetres), with forecasters warning of “significant, life-threatening flash flooding along with mudslides.”
Oscar made landfall in the eastern province of Guantanamo, near the city of Baracoa, on Sunday evening with winds of 75 mph (120 kph). The storm also had made landfall on Saturday on Great Inagua in the Bahamas, where residents were evacuated after their homes were damaged.
Rain and flooding in low-lying areas were reported in Cuba’s eastern provinces. Cuban media said 2-meter (6.5-feet) swells were hitting the coast and that roofs and walls in Baracoa had been damaged.
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