In brief
As Hurricane Oscar made landfall on Sunday, reports from the Cuban government confirm a tragic toll, with at least six fatalities and over a thousand homes significantly affected by the storm's fury.
At least six lives have been lost due to Hurricane Oscar, as reported by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. The hurricane struck near Baracoa in eastern Cuba on Sunday afternoon, having made landfall as a category one storm before subsequently weakening into a tropical storm. The Guantánamo province emerged as the most affected area, enduring severe rains and winds that damaged more than 1,000 homes.Strikingly, Oscar's landfall coincided with a nationwide power outage that plunged around 10 million Cubans into darkness. President Díaz-Canel noted that some regions remained inaccessible even as rescue efforts were underway. He highlighted the municipalities of San Antonio and Imías as particularly hard hit, citing unprecedented levels of flooding in those locales.All six reported deaths occurred in San Antonio; however, specific details about the circumstances of the fatalities have yet to be disclosed. Meteorologists have predicted that Oscar's path could lead to localized flooding in parts of the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands as it continues its trajectory northeastward.Public frustration has mounted in many Cuban neighborhoods, as areas remain without power following the hurricane. In a rare instance of public dissent, some residents protested, banging pots and pans and demanding “Turn on the lights." While power cuts are common in Cuba, the recent failure of the country’s largest power plant triggered widespread outages, with Díaz-Canel attributing the situation to the ongoing US trade embargo.Despite assurances from the government that efforts to restore power are prioritized, residents expressed their dismay over the prolonged outages. One man shared his concern for his elderly grandmother who had not had cold water since Friday, and a woman voiced desperation over spoiled food and lack of basic necessities in the wake of the storm.Cuba continues to grapple with profound economic challenges, including food and fuel shortages that have worsened, contributing to a complex web of social unrest and frustration among its populace.
