Cuba Hit by Tropical Storm Oscar as It Struggles to End Blackout

Cuba was dealing with heavy rains and winds today from Tropical Storm Oscar, even as it continues to deal with a prolonged blackout affecting a large swath of the island.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Oscar made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in eastern Cuba and then weakened to a tropical storm by late in the day.

Monday morning NOAA said the center of Oscar was expected to continue moving across eastern Cuba through the afternoon, then emerge off the northern coast of Cuba late today or tonight and move near the southeastern and central Bahamas on Tuesday.

Heavy rainfall is expected in Cuba through Wednesday morning, with rainfall amounts of 7 to 14 inches including some isolated amounts of 20 inches, especially within the Sierra Maestra. This rainfall will lead to areas of significant, life-threatening flash flooding along with mudslides, NOA said in its forecast.

Across the southeastern Bahamas, 3 to 5 inches of rain are expected, with isolated amounts around 8 inches. This rainfall could cause localized flash flooding.

Meanwhile, Cuban authorities were struggling to restore power after the island’s largest power plant shut down last Friday, causing the entire island to go dark.

Several attempts to restore power over the weekend faltered, leaving millions still without power as the week began, according to government media reports.

There appeared to be some progress today. On the government site, Cubadebate, Havana Electric reported that about 50% of its customers had service.