Oscar is downgraded to a tropical storm, but its slow advance through Cuba is potentially deadly

 Hurricane Oscar, now downgraded to a tropical storm, which hit Cuba a few hours ago, is advancing slowly through the east of the country and continues to produce heavy rains and “potentially fatal” flash floods, according to the latest data provided by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the United States.

Oscar made landfall on the northeastern tip of Cuba last night and is expected to move east of the island on Monday, then move a little faster northeastward through the central Bahamas on Tuesday without threatening U.S. territory.

The latest data from the US National Hurricane Center placed the center of the storm about 30 kilometers from Guantanamo, southeast of Cuba, with a speed of 8 kilometers per hour.

Based on forecast track, a turn to the west and northwest is expected on Monday, followed by a faster northeastward motion on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“The center of Oscar is expected to continue moving across eastern Cuba through this afternoon, then emerge off the northern coast of Cuba late today or tonight and move near the southeastern and central Bahamas on Tuesday.”

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts at times.

The latest report from the Cuban Meteorological Institute (Insmet) indicates that Oscar is leaving very significant accumulations of rain, showers and thunderstorms.

For example, in the province of Guantánamo, with 92 liters per square meter at the Punta de Maisí station and 76.7 liters in Baracoa.

In the coming hours, rainfall associated with this system will continue, and will be strong and intense in some localities and in mountainous areas.

Accumulated rainfall can reach values ​​between 100 and 200 liters per square meter in the eastern region.

In these provinces, tropical storm force winds will continue, reaching speeds of between 85 and 100 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts.

Strong swells will continue to occur on the northeastern coast, mainly north of the provinces of Guantánamo and Holguín, which will gradually extend towards the northern coast of Las Tunas.

Moderate to severe coastal flooding will continue in low-lying areas of this coastline, including the Baracoa seawall.

The restoration of electricity in the western provinces of Cuba – including Havana – began this Sunday, after the new failure in the national electrical energy system (SEN) the day before, 48 hours after the total blackout that the island experienced.