The Hurricane Oscar is a significant impact on the areas of agriculture within Guantanamo particularly the tomatoes and banana plantations. The state-owned newspaper Venceremos as well as Radio Baracoa highlight the extensive destruction. Particularly the banana plantations have been affected by about 50 percent of their yields as the damage increases up to 70%-80% in cities like Maisi and Baracoa in which numerous trees are reported to have to have fallen.

Furthermore, the hurricane caused destruction of 200 acres of tomatoes within the Valle de Caujeri, located in San Antonio del Sur. To deal with the destruction according to official reports, there are the plans of deploying two brigades each with 50 chainsaws to the municipalities that are most affected that will assist in the opening of roads and clean-up efforts. In addition, plans are in place to form reinforcement teams that are that will be tasked with salvaging the remaining food items.

The course of the hurricane Oscar throughout Guantanamo was characterized by it’s slow move from the west to south-southwest, with a speed of around 8 km/h. It then transformed into an tropical storm. Even though the wind decreased in force, the storm’s presence continues to bring massive rains on the area.

Source: CiberCuba