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MIAMI (AP) – Hurricane Oscar made landfall in eastern Cuba, which suffered widespread power outages after pummeling the southeastern Bahamas early Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The center of the typhoon arrived in Cuba’s Guantanamo province near the city of Baracoa on Sunday evening, according to the Miami Hurricane Center. Maximum sustained wind speeds were near 80 mph (130 kph).
The system is expected to cross eastern Cuba from Sunday night into Monday. Forecasters said 6 to 12 inches (15.2 to 30.5 centimeters) of rain was expected across eastern Cuba into early Wednesday, with up to 18 inches (45.72 centimeters) in some isolated places. It is said to reach. The center said storm surges of up to 3 feet (0.91 meters) could occur in some areas of Cuba’s northern coast.
Oscar is expected to weaken over eastern Cuba and turn northeast toward the central Bahamas on Tuesday, the center said.
The center of the storm was located approximately 5 miles (10 km) east-southeast of Baracoa or approximately 50 miles (80 km) east-northeast of Guantanamo. It was heading west-southwest at 7 mph (11 kph).
Oscar made landfall on Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas early Sunday morning. It was expected to cause dangerous storm surges that could cause significant coastal flooding in that area and other parts of the southeastern Bahamas. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches (5.1 to 10.2 centimeters) are expected, with up to 6 inches (15.2 centimeters) in isolated areas.
The hurricane’s arrival comes as Cuba struggles to recover from the worst power outage in at least two years, which left millions without power for two days last week. Some electricity service was restored on Saturday.
Philippe Papin of the National Hurricane Center said it was somewhat unexpected that Oscar became a hurricane on Saturday.
“Unfortunately, the system has crept up on us a little bit,” Papin said.
Hours earlier, Tropical Storm Nadine formed off Mexico’s southern Caribbean coast. As it moved over land, it became a tropical cyclone.
