At least six people have died as a result of Hurricane Oscar in Cuba, the country’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has confirmed, writes BBC.
Oscar made landfall as a category one hurricane near the city of Baracoa in eastern Cuba on Sunday afternoon local time before weakening to a tropical storm.
The province of Guantánamo was the worst hit, with more than 1,000 homes damaged by heavy rains and strong winds. The hurricane made landfall during an island-wide power cut which left around 10 million Cubans in the dark.
President Díaz-Canel said that, as of the early hours of Tuesday, there were still areas which remained inaccessible following Oscar’s passing. He added that rescue workers were doing their best to reach those cut off. The president said that “the municipalities of San Antonio and Imías have been heavily battered by this event and there have even been levels of flooding that were not historically recorded in these two areas”.
The six fatalities were all recorded in San Antonio, but so far no details have been given as to how they died.
Meteorologists have warned that Oscar could cause localised flash flooding across south-eastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday as it moves north-eastward.