Havana: Paloma has slammed into Cuba as an extremely dangerous Category four hurricane, while authorities scrambled to evacuate tens of thousands of people and protect crops on an island still reeling from two other devastating storms.

Paloma's ferocious 230 kph winds and rain were lashing Cuba's southern coast near Santa Cruz del Sur and the late-season storm was projected to plow over the island before heading into the Atlantic today, said Stacy Stewart of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Former President Fidel Castro warned that Paloma would damage roads and new crops planted after hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit in late August and early September, causing an estimated USD 9.4 billion in damage and destroyed nearly a third of Cuba's crops.

Cuba's National Information Agency reported that poultry and pork operations were being secured and crops protected in the eastern provinces of Camaguey and Santiago. In Camaguey province alone, more than 72,000 people had been evacuated from vulnerable coastal areas, state television reported.

State television showed workers warehousing bags of rice, trimming tree branches and clearing out storm drains. Bus and train transportation across central and eastern Cuba was suspended.

There were no other immediate reports of evacuations, but Cuba regularly evacuates large numbers of people for tropical storms and hurricanes - a measure that historically has prevented major loss of life during natural disasters.

In an essay published in Cuban state media yesterday, Castro warned that Paloma could further damage a farm sector already battered by storms that caused widespread shortages of fresh produce.

 

Source : PTI