According to an investigation by the provincial delegation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma), Oscar’s violence was great, and in several ecosystems in the southeast of the province it forced changes so significant that they cannot be reversed.

Specialists point out that the rains and winds modified the morphology of several coastal segments, in addition to destroying part of the vegetal layer in agricultural areas, which affected soil fertility and local biodiversity.

The subdelegate for Agriculture in Guantánamo, Teudis Limeres, stated that the damage was colossal and repairing it will require time, resources, science and constant effort.

In turn, the mangroves suffered significant damage, especially in Macambo, while the coral reefs on the northern coast from Maisí to Baracoa were also affected by the waves and river washouts.

The report by Citma experts indicates half a thousand landslides in the mountains north of San Antonio del Sur and Imías, and in areas somewhat further away from their municipal capitals, among which are the mountain range south of the San Antonio highway, where Macambo is located, the northern and southern flanks of the main land route of Imías, and the embankment towards Los Calderos.

Likewise, the Citma text points out, a part of the typical plant population of the areas that register landslides, suffers from the changes suddenly introduced by nature in their habitats.

Erosion will increase in certain areas, as landslides accentuated the gullies (holes in rocks and slopes caused by floods), a consequence of surface runoff, the studies detail.

According to the report, 37 percent of the trees in urban and suburban areas affected by the cyclone were damaged, as was the riparian flora in the river’s protective strips and in areas of active current.

For his part, the Master of Sciences Miguel Ángel Queralta, a specialist in Natural Resources and Climate Change, said that in several coastal segments of Imías and San Antonio del Sur the morphology also changed, as at intervals the coastlines are seen advancing and also retreating.

He added that the damage caused by the volumes of water pushed to the mouth of the rivers on six of the 18 beaches in Imías and San Antonio del Sur, is mainly expressed in the loss of sand, and about 45 thousand cubic meters of this distinctive material was taken by the flooding from the beaches of Los Ciguatos, Sabanalamar and Macambo, all in San Antonio del Sur.

“Currently there are ecosystems that are different from those before the hurricane and any attempt to reverse such changes would imply adding vulnerabilities to them,” said the specialist.

Hurricane Oscar caused eight deaths, thousands of evacuees, a national blackout and significant damage to more than a thousand homes.

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