Storm Oscar leaves 7 dead in Cuba; Kristy gains hurricane strength

<a href="https://www.world-today-news.com/tropical-storm-oscar-is-bringing-strong-winds-and-rain-to-eastern-cuba-on-its-way-to-the-bahamas/" title="Tropical Storm Oscar is bringing strong winds and rain to eastern Cuba on its way to the Bahamas”>Tropical Storm Oscar dissipated Tuesday as it headed toward the Bahamas after making landfall in Cuba as a Category 1 hurricane, leaving at least seven dead and dumping heavy rain on an island already suffering from an extensive unrelated blackout.

The towns of San Antonio del Sur and Imías, in Guantánamo, suffered the greatest impact of the cyclone’s passage with the death of seven people, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel reported on Tuesday on his X account, formerly Twitter. Among the deceased, there is a mother and her 5-year-old son.

Broken bridges, overflowing rivers, storm surges and damaged infrastructure were reported Tuesday, after Oscar left Cuba and regions that had been isolated became accessible. Entire families lost their household belongings when water entered normally dry areas.

In Baracoa, the landline had 2,207 lines interrupted, which represents 31 percent of the users and in that city and Maisí there was damage to more than 2,000 homes and 200 state facilities. Local media outlets said that some 25,000 people had to be evacuated both from relatives’ homes and from state centers.

The remnants of Oscar were about 115 kilometers east-southeast of Long Island, Bahamas, on Tuesday afternoon. Its maximum sustained winds decreased to 55 kilometers per hour while the remnants moved northeast at 19 km/h, according to the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC).