Hurricane Oscar warning issued in Cuba, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands

(Reuters)

Cuba issued a hurricane warning for its northern coast regarding Hurricane Oscar, which is forecast to make landfall in Cuba on Sunday night, the US National Hurricane Center said on Saturday.

The warning was for the provinces of Holguin and Guantanamo, according to the latest NHC advisory.

The government of the Bahamas has also issued a warning for Oscar, which formed east of the Turks and Caicos Islands, the NHC said in an earlier advisory on Saturday.

A hurricane warning was also in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Oscar is about 115 km west of Grand Turk Island and about 590 km east of Camaguey city in Cuba, packing maximum sustained winds of 136 kmph, according to the NHC.

Heavy rainfall from Oscar will lead to flash flooding along with potential mudslides across portions of eastern Cuba, especially within the Sierra Maestra mountain range, the latest advisory said.

Hurricane Oscar is also expected to produce a dangerous storm surge for portions of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Saturday night, and along the north shore of Cuba later on Sunday, according to the NHC.