Earth News from TerraDaily.com
More than 66,000 Cubans evacuated over flooding fears
Havana, Nov 3 (AFP) Nov 03, 2024
More than 66,000 people have been evacuated in Cuba's easternmost province Guantanamo, ahead of heavy rains that threaten a region already badly hit by Hurricane Oscar, local television announced on Sunday.

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

Cuba's Meteorological Institute warned on Sunday of "showers, rains and thunderstorms towards the eastern end" of the country. In addition, an area of low pressure south of Jamaica was also being monitored, it added.

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

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

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

Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis since the 1990s, marked by shortages of medicines and fuel, frequent power cuts and a wave of migration unprecedented since the 1959 Castro revolution.

rd/jb/dg/cls/fjb/st/aha

X





Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Trump names billionaire private astronaut as next NASA chief
Liquid on Mars was not necessarily all water
SpaceX sets record launching Falcon 9 first-stage booster 24 times

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Mystery, volatility, Trump: the Bitcoin phenomenon
'Spooky action' at a very short distance: Scientists map out quantum entanglement in protons
Bitcoin breaks $100,000, stocks mixed as traders eye S. Korea drama

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Umbra chosen for NRO Strategic Enhancements Stage III to boost SAR capabilities
Parsons and Globalstar demonstrate first software-defined LEO satellite solution
Maxar partners with TD SYNNEX to expand geospatial access

24/7 News Coverage
UN warns global drought carries $300 bn annual cost
Global temps soar: China, Spain, and Japan all report warmest seasons on record
Drought hits food access for 26 million in southern Africa: UN


ADVERTISEMENT



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.