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Hurricane Oscar could lead to a “humanitarian crisis.”

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Hurricane Oscar could lead to a “humanitarian crisis.”

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Hurricane Oscar is expected to hit Cuba on Sunday as the island faces an existing power crisis, adding to fears that Oscar could prove particularly dangerous.

Oscar, a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour as of Sunday morning, has already moved across the southeastern Bahamas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

NHC forecasters expect the storm to weaken and make a quick turnaround, heading back toward the Bahamas early next week.

Cuba is expected to receive 5 to 10 inches of rain through Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. In some areas 15 inches could be visible.

Meanwhile, the NHC is also tracking Tropical Depression Nadine, which is expected to bring heavy rain to southern Mexico.

Fear of a “humanitarian crisis”

Dangerous storm surges are expected Sunday morning in the southeastern part of the Bahamas, mostly around Great Inagua Island and later on the northern coast of Cuba, the NHC forecast.

Accuweather forecasters fear Oscar could develop into a Category 2 storm.

“Heavy rain falling across steep terrain in southeastern Cuba is raising serious concerns about major flash flooding as well as mudslides and rock slides,” AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the combination of these factors can lead to this.” If an even more intense Oscar narrowly misses Cuba or even lands there, it would lead to a humanitarian crisis in some parts of southeastern Cuba.

An existing electricity crisis in Cuba has heightened concerns about Oscar's impact.

On Saturday, the Cuban government restored power to a fifth of the country's 10 million residents after the national grid collapsed twice in 24 hours.

“The impact of the hurricane on Cuba is extremely concerning due to the ongoing power grid crisis in Cuba,” Porter said. “If a hurricane is added to the existing power outage, it could make the hurricane's effects far worse, further endangering lives and creating challenges.” Preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the effects of the hurricane.

According to Reuters, the island lost power for the first time after its power grid collapsed on Friday afternoon when its largest power plant shut down. Then the network collapsed again on Saturday morning.

Authorities reported that the government had made progress in restoring power before announcing another grid collapse on Saturday evening.

Hurricane Oscar path

Hurricane Oscar Spaghetti Models

The illustrations span a range of forecasting tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center only uses the four or five best-performing models in its forecasts.

Tropical Depression Nadine

The NHC is also tracking a tropical depression that is expected to bring heavy rain to southern Mexico.

As of Sunday morning, there were no watches or warnings about Nadine. The storm is expected to dissipate during Sunday morning.

Chase Nadine

Featuring: John Gallas, Diane Pantaleo; USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida; Reuters

Julia is a trends reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her LinkedInkeep following her X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram And TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected]

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