More than 66,000 Cubans evacuated amid fears of flooding from heavy rains in Guantanamo – Firstpost

The majority of evacuees are in the municipalities of San Antonio del Sur and Imias, where Oscar caused historic flooding a fortnight ago, killing eight people.

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More than 66,000 people have been evacuated in Cuba’s easternmost province of Guantanamo ahead of heavy rains that threaten a region already hard hit by Hurricane Oscar, local television announced Sunday.

The majority of evacuees are in the municipalities of San Antonio del Sur and Imias, where Oscar caused historic flooding a fortnight ago and killed eight people, the TV channel said.

The Cuban Meteorological Institute warned on Sunday of “showers, rain and thunderstorms on the eastern side” of the country. In addition, an area of ​​low pressure south of Jamaica was also monitored, it added.

“We are constantly monitoring the meteorological situation over Cuba and its possible evolution,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on X.

Oscar, a Category 1 hurricane that struck Cuba on October 20, left Guantanamo with saturated soils and emptying reservoirs, increasing the risk of flooding in several municipalities in the province.

According to official figures, more than 12,000 houses, roads and almost 20,000 hectares of crops – mainly coffee – were damaged by the storm.

Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis since the 1990s, marked by medicine and fuel shortages, frequent power outages and a wave of migration unprecedented since the 1959 Castro Revolution.