Miami.- Hurricane Oscar hit the eastern part of Cuba, an island that recently experienced major power outages, after hitting the southeastern part of the Bahamas early Sunday, the United States National Hurricane Center reported.
The Miami-based Center noted that the center of the storm reached the Cuban province of Guantánamo, near the city of Baracoa, this afternoon. Maximum wind speed was around 130 km/h (80 mph).
The system is expected to move into eastern Cuba tonight and Monday. Forecasters said 6 to 12 inches (15.2 to 30.5 centimeters) of rain were expected across eastern Cuba through Wednesday morning, with up to 18 inches (45.72 centimeters) of rain expected in some isolated places ( inch). Storm surges of up to 0.91 meters (3 feet) were possible in some areas of Cuba’s northern coast, according to the center.
Oscar is expected to weaken over eastern Cuba before turning northeast and approaching the central Bahamas on Tuesday, according to the center.
The storm’s center was located about 10 kilometers (5 miles) east-southeast of Baracoa, or about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east-northeast of Guantánamo. It was heading west-southwest at 11 km/h (7 mph).
Oscar landed on Great Inagua Island on Sunday morning. This is expected to cause a dangerous storm surge that will cause major flooding on the coast and other areas of the southeastern Bahamas. 5.1 to 10.2 centimeters (2 to 4 inches) of rain is expected, with isolated showers of up to 15.2 centimeters (6 inches).
The storm approaches as Cuba tries to recover from its worst power outage in two years, which left millions of people without electricity for two days last week. Some electrical service was restored Saturday.
Philippe Papin of the National Hurricane Center said to some extent Oscar was not expected to become a hurricane on Saturday.
“Unfortunately, the system snuck up on us,” Papin said.
Hours earlier, Tropical Storm Nadine formed off Mexico’s southeastern Caribbean coast. It reduced to a tropical depression as it moved inland.
