Hurricane Oscar heads for Cuba as millions remain without power

Cuba’s ongoing power crisis could be deepened by Hurricane Oscar, a major storm that is predicted to bring flash floods, mudslides, and up to 15 inches of rain to some areas of the island.

The storm could compound the difficulty of getting electricity flowing on the island, which has an aged grid infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages and has suffered multiple island-wide power failures in recent days. Internet traffic was reported down over the weekend, Reuters reported, suggesting Cubans may be largely unable to access information about the storm to prepare.

Meteorologists fear that the Category 1 storm could intensify and create a “humanitarian crisis,” USA Today reported. Oscar formed as a tropical storm east of the Turks and Caicos islands, but the storm quickly accelerated over the weekend. The National Hurricane Center said its formation into a hurricane was “unexpected,” and that “the system kind of snuck up a little bit on us.” Mounting scientific evidence suggests major Atlantic hurricanes are becoming more frequent and intensifying more rapidly as a result of warming water, caused by climate change.