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| Hurricane Paloma slams into Cuba | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Hurricane Paloma, an "extremely dangerous" Category Four storm with winds of up to 233km/h (145mph), has made landfall on Cuba's south coast. | |
| Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from low-lying areas and the country has been lashed by heavy rain. | |
| The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has predicted that the storm will now decrease in strength. | |
| Paloma has already caused torrential rains and storm surges in some areas of the Cayman Islands. | Paloma has already caused torrential rains and storm surges in some areas of the Cayman Islands. |
| Cuban meteorologist Jose Rubiera said that despite the predicted weakening, "we have to pay full attention to this storm". | |
| The authorities in the Bahamas have also been put on alert. | The authorities in the Bahamas have also been put on alert. |
| 'Battering waves' | 'Battering waves' |
| The NHC has warned of "potentially catastrophic storm surge flooding" of 6m to 7.6m along Cuba's south coast, accompanied by "large and dangerous battering waves". | The NHC has warned of "potentially catastrophic storm surge flooding" of 6m to 7.6m along Cuba's south coast, accompanied by "large and dangerous battering waves". |
| See Hurricane Paloma's potential pathEnlarge Map | See Hurricane Paloma's potential pathEnlarge Map |
| In the Cayman Islands, schools, offices and businesses were shut and some people were moved into storm shelters. | In the Cayman Islands, schools, offices and businesses were shut and some people were moved into storm shelters. |
| Property was damaged but there were no reports of any injuries. | Property was damaged but there were no reports of any injuries. |
| "Our indications are that there has been minimal if any damage on Grand Cayman," said Donovan Ebanks, chairman of the Hazard Management Committee. | "Our indications are that there has been minimal if any damage on Grand Cayman," said Donovan Ebanks, chairman of the Hazard Management Committee. |
| "We really got very luck on this one," said one resident. | "We really got very luck on this one," said one resident. |
| But damage was more severe on the small island of Cayman Brac, to the east of Grand Cayman. | But damage was more severe on the small island of Cayman Brac, to the east of Grand Cayman. |
| District commissioner Ernie Scott told AFP they had suffered "island-wide damage". | District commissioner Ernie Scott told AFP they had suffered "island-wide damage". |
| "Probably 90 to 95% of homes and buildings have been damaged. Some have been totally devastated," he said. | "Probably 90 to 95% of homes and buildings have been damaged. Some have been totally devastated," he said. |
| Paloma is the 16th storm of the Atlantic storm season and the eighth hurricane. It earlier brought heavy rain to parts of Honduras and Nicaragua. | Paloma is the 16th storm of the Atlantic storm season and the eighth hurricane. It earlier brought heavy rain to parts of Honduras and Nicaragua. |
| Paloma is the fifth hurricane to hit Cuba this season. | |
| The country has yet to recover from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which struck on 30 August and 9 September respectively, causing billions of dollars worth of damage and destroying hundreds of thousands of homes. | The country has yet to recover from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which struck on 30 August and 9 September respectively, causing billions of dollars worth of damage and destroying hundreds of thousands of homes. |
| Are you in the affected area? Please tell us what is happening where you are using the form below: | Are you in the affected area? Please tell us what is happening where you are using the form below: |