Hurricane Oscar makes landfall on Bahamas and approaches Cuba

Hurricane Oscar made landfall aboriginal connected Sunday successful the south-eastern Bahamas and was heading towards Cuba, an land precocious deed by a monolithic powerfulness outage.

The National Hurricane Centre successful Miami said the storm's centre arrived connected Great Inagua island.

It is expected to nutrient a unsafe tempest surge that could construe into important coastal flooding determination and successful different areas of the south-eastern Bahamas.

Two to 4 inches of rainfall are expected, with isolated areas seeing up to six inches.

Forecasters said 5 to 10 inches of rainfall are expected crossed eastbound Cuba done to Tuesday, with immoderate isolated locations getting up to 15 inches.

Oscar formed connected Saturday disconnected the seashore of the Bahamas and brushed past the Turks and Caicos islands to the south.

The National Hurricane Centre earlier described the tempest arsenic "tiny", but hurricane warnings were successful spot connected Sunday for south-eastern Bahamas and portions of Cuba.

The storm's maximum sustained winds were clocked astatine 80 mph with higher gusts. Its centre was located astir 150 miles east-northeast of Guantanamo, Cuba.

The tempest was heading westbound astatine 12 mph and was expected to scope Guantanamo oregon Holguin, Cuba, connected Sunday at hurricane strength.

The hurricane's attack comes arsenic Cuba tries to retrieve from its worst blackout successful astatine slightest 2 years, which near millions without powerfulness for 2 days past week. Some electrical work was restored Saturday.

Philippe Papin of the National Hurricane Centre said it was somewhat unexpected that Oscar became a hurricane on Saturday.

"Unfortunately the strategy benignant of snuck up a small spot connected us," Mr Papin said.

Hours earlier Tropical Storm Nadine formed disconnected Mexico's confederate Caribbean coast. It degenerated into a tropical slump arsenic it moved implicit land.