Hurricane Oscar causes landslides on the La Farola viaduct and cuts access to Baracoa from Guantánamo.

Hurricane Oscar caused landslides on the well-known La Farola road, which connects the municipalities of Imías and Baracoa through a winding mountain route, dangerous in many sections and in poor condition over almost its entire length.

"There are damages due to the rains after the passage of Tropical Storm Oscar, preventing access to the La Farola viaduct, which connects the municipalities of Imías and Baracoa," the official media outlet Cubadebate indicated on its social networks this Monday.

Photographs shared in their post showed rockslides—some of them large—landslides, and fallen trees on the road.

Oscar's passage through Guantánamo also leaves other images of damage to homes, crops, and administrative buildings.

Photos and videos shared by Radio Baracoa showed how the Villa Primada woke up this Monday, having been hit by gusts of wind of up to 130 km/h.

Houses and buildings without roofs, fallen trees, destroyed crops, and affected electrical lines: The damage caused by Oscar was laid bare under the milky light of this morning's sun.

Considered one of the seven wonders of civil engineering in the nation due to the complexities of its execution, La Farola road crosses the Sagua-Baracoa mountain range from South to North in a winding route of 30 kilometers and is part of the Vía Azul, a 154-kilometer road that connects Guantánamo with Baracoa.

However, the lack of maintenance, coupled with the abandonment and widespread deterioration of the country's road infrastructure, has turned this viaduct into one of the most dangerous on the Island.

At the end of March, a truck and a bus covering the Baracoa-Santiago de Cuba route collided in La Farola, resulting in three people being injured.

In September 2023, Cuban drivers expressed concern about rockfalls on La Farola, pointing out the section near the Palma Clara area as one of the most dangerous due to its tendency for rockfalls on rainy days.

In February of that year, the Cagüeybaje Dos section was closed in order to avoid the poor condition of the road, and a detour was established until resources were available for its repair.