Large river floods in Baracoa due to intense rains from Hurricane Oscar.

The intense rains associated with storm Oscar, after entering as a hurricane near Baracoa on Sunday afternoon, caused significant river surges in that municipality of Guantánamo, which in turn led to flooding and damage in the eastern locality.

Photos and videos shared on social media by local media and residents show the significant increase in the flow of the rivers due to the rainfall in Villa Primada.

Rainfall recordings were significant in Baracoa, one of the three municipalities in Guantánamo where the combined network of meteorological stations and rain gauges from the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources reported the highest accumulated precipitation due to the influence of Oscar.

According to a report issued by the Institute of Meteorology (INSMET) this Monday, in the last 24 hours, 208 mm of rain had been accumulated in Jamal, Baracoa. This figure was only surpassed by the weather station at Punta de Maisí, with 366 mm; and by Puriales de Caujerí, in San Antonio del Sur, with 329 mm.

"Intense rise of rivers in Baracoa, under the influence of Hurricane Oscar," published the television center Primada Visión, from Baracoa, with impressive images of the Duaba River, whose waters flooded one of the bridges.

In another post, it reads: "Large areas remain flooded by the rivers in Baracoa," with a photo of the capital city streets submerged.

In the afternoon, after more than 24 hours of rain, the rains diminished slightly, reported Primada Vision. “There was only calm during the almost two hours in which, presumably, the eye of Hurricane Oscar remained over the territory.”

The rains and winds caused damage to the La Farola viaduct, which connects the municipalities of Imías and Baracoa. Landslides and fallen trees made access impossible in some sections of the road in the morning, reported Radio Guantánamo.

In Quiviján, total and partial damage was registered in the roofs of houses, in two schools, and in a facility of the Family Care System. Additionally, the road was blocked by the river and fallen trees, while the mini-hydroelectric plant was overtaken by the river, reported the newspaper Venceremos.

In the village of El Jamal, the second most important settlement in the eastern municipality, several houses lost part or all of their roofs due to the intense winds, reported the radio station Radio Baracoa.

The provincial delegation of Agriculture in Guantánamo estimates that 70 to 80% of the banana plantations in Baracoa and Maisí have been damaged. In the first municipality, many trees were reported down due to the strength of the hurricane's winds.

The municipalities of Imías and San Antonio del Sur remained cut off this Monday due to the severe flooding caused by the unusual rise in river levels from the rainfall of Hurricane Oscar.

The overflowing of the rivers in those two areas flooded the communities, where water penetrated homes and other buildings, such as the Ciro Frías Cabrera Polyclinic in Imías.

Houses without roofs, fallen zinc roofs, partial collapses of homes, especially wooden ones; plantations on the ground, damaged utility poles, and flooding were the result of the force of the winds and the intensity of the rains that came with Oscar to the easternmost region of Cuba.

The impact of the weather phenomenon on housing infrastructure in Guantánamo was significant.

In a preliminary report on the damage caused by Oscar, the Cuban government announced that more than a thousand homes were damaged in several municipalities of the province of Guantánamo, the main territory affected by the passage of Hurricane Oscar between Sunday evening and Monday morning.

Subsequently, the system downgraded to a tropical storm and continued its slow movement over the eastern region of Cuba.

At the end of the afternoon or in the evening of this Monday, Oscar will head out to sea off the northern coast of the province of Holguín.