Residents of a town in Imías survived Hurricane Oscar by staying on the roof of a house all night.

The residents of the town of Carrizal, in the municipality of Imías, Guantánamo, saved their lives the night Hurricane Oscar unleashed its fury on the province of Guantánamo, by climbing onto the roof of one of the houses, where they remained throughout the night under the relentless rain.

The shocking story was revealed by a woman living in that community to activist Yamilka Laffita -Lara Crofs-, who shared the testimony publicly this Sunday on her social media profiles.

"Nobody died here, at least not to my knowledge," the woman from Guantánamo stated. "People climbed to the roof of one of the three small houses with a concrete slab that are here, and we were there all night under the water to save ourselves."

In the message sent to Laffita, accompanied by photos showing the damage caused by the hurricane, he recounted that they lost nearly all their belongings and have been “eating crackers and a little rice and plantains” for four days.

Additionally, she pleaded for them to send help, primarily food or means to buy it, as "the trucks that come from the State sell everything," the woman, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, reported.

"Everything is very sad. I wrote to everyone I could both inside and outside of Cuba to make this known. Thank you for everything you do for the poorest in your country. Blessings," the message to Laffita concluded.

The activist explained that she transcribed the text "to prevent someone from recognizing her writing style or words, as she is afraid that, despite needing help, they might retaliate against her."

This testimony adds to many others from residents of the municipalities of Imías and San Antonio del Sur, who protected their lives as best as they could after being caught off guard on the afternoon and evening of October 20 by Hurricane Oscar, which made landfall in Guantánamo and caused unprecedented flooding in both areas of the southern province, leaving death and devastation in its wake.

According to reports from the official press, after the passage of the hurricane, thousands of people were airlifted due to the fact that those areas were cut off by flooding. Many of the evacuees were taken to hospitals because they required emergency care.

During the week, rescue and recovery teams have been working to locate missing families following landslides and rising rivers and dams, according to reports from community residents.

Although the government has only confirmed the deaths of seven people to date—six in San Antonio del Sur and one in Imías—residents of communities in those municipalities have questioned the official figures, asserting that the number of deaths exceeds what has been reported, and that there are dozens of missing persons.