In recent hours, overwhelming requests for help from desperate relatives have multiplied in Facebook groups, primarily from San Antonio del Sur and Imías, who have sought assistance in locating their loved ones, both from abroad and from other provinces of the country.
"Does anyone know anything about the beach?" Leticia Polo was asking in the Facebook group Revolico San Antonio del Sur.
"Until just now when I talked to my mom, there were no fatalities at the beach. Many people lost their animals and material possessions," a user replied in the comments section, giving some relief to the person who asked.
In another harrowing testimony, a woman specified in Pan de Azúcar, also in San Antonio, that the houses had been covered by the flood and that people had to save their lives by breaking through the roofs of their homes.
"Please, does anyone know anything about the people from Macambo?" Luis Miguel Rodríguez was asking in another post.
"What is known? Any breaking news, please? I have no communication just like many others, with the people over there," Cristian Matos was asking.
In several cases, the posts asking for help and questions have received little to no responses due to the limited connectivity that characterized yesterday in the areas most affected by Hurricane Oscar, which caused great damage in Guantánamo during the hours it lasted, with minimal movement, battering that province with heavy rains.
Aseneht Leyva, for her part, resorted to directly posting photos of her sister, her nephews, and her brother-in-law - who also reside in San Antonio del Sur - to try to gather information.
"They are doing well. I saw them one or two hours ago," replied Freidi Ramirez.
"I need to know if anyone has information about Yateritas. I am worried about my family," wrote Fátima Lobaina Matos, although in the comments she found relief that Yateritas was doing better compared to other areas of Guantánamo.
In recent hours, the Cuban activist Yamilka Lafita - known as Lara Crofs - indicated that she had a father’s side brother and a nephew "missing" in Imías.
"I just found out that I have a brother on my father's side and a nephew missing in Imías. Walter Lafita is 55 years old, Marcos Lafita is 27 years old," he wrote on Facebook.
Oscar Junior Guilarte Rodríguez, a Cuban resident outside of Guantánamo, offered 30,000 CUP as a reward for anyone who provided information about his family, who were cut off from communication in the locality of La Tinta, in the municipality of Imías, after the passage of the hurricane.
Through a Facebook post, Guilarte expressed his desperation, mentioning that he has been without news from his loved ones and neighbors for five days.
In another plea for help, Noel Samón Méndez -Gallego was looking for his daughter and two grandchildren, who were trapped the night of Sunday by the sudden floods in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur.
The province of Guantánamo, and in particular several areas of municipalities such as Imías and San Antonio del Sur, were cut off from communication due to the flooding caused by Oscar, which hit the region hard before degrading to a tropical storm.
Cuban authorities initially confirmed that six people lost their lives in San Antonio del Sur, following intense rains and damage caused by the hurricane, including a mother and her five-year-old daughter.
Subsequently, a seventh victim was reported in the municipality of Imías, which was also devastated by the weather phenomenon.
Miguel Díaz-Canel publicly lamented the deaths and noted that rescue and damage assessment activities continue in the most affected areas, many of which remain flooded.
The coincidence of Oscar's passage through the eastern region with the collapse of the National Electroenergetic System meant that hundreds of thousands of Cubans did not receive accurate information about the weather event, a situation that raised alarms among civil society, which perceived the risk it posed to the inhabitants of that region.
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