Tropical storm hits Cuban capital

A weakening Tropical Storm Paula dumped heavy rain on Cuba’s capital, Havana, turning some of the streets into shallow rivers and knocking out power before sliding along the island’s northern coast.

But it was far less destructive than the three hurricanes which devastated Cuba in 2008.

Cuban officials discontinued all storm warnings for the island by late yesterday, and the storm was expected to weaken to a tropical depression today.

By late last night, Paula’s maximum sustained winds had diminished to near 45mph (75kph), with some higher gusts, said the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

The storm was moving east at about 14mph (22kph), and forecasters projected it would continue in that direction for the next 48 hours. Tropical storm-force winds extended about 60 miles (95km) from the centre, mainly to the north-east.

Paula was expected to deliver an additional 1in to 2in (2.5cm to 5cm) of rain over central Cuba and the central Bahamas for the next day and a half, and up to an inch over parts of the Florida Keys, the Hurricane Centre said.

By the time the storm has left Cuba it will have dumped up to 10in (25cm) of rain in some areas of the island, bringing threats of flash floods and mudslides, the Centre said.

A storm surge was expected to raise water levels by as much as 1ft to 3ft (30cm to 60cm) above normal tide levels in central Cuba.

Heavy rain poured down on Havana as dusk fell yesterday, and the sea, which had been flat, quickly turned violent and frothy. In most of the city, power was knocked out – or was switched off, a normal precaution when winds are high. Waves crashed against the city’s Malecon sea wall and some streets were inundated with a foot or two of water.

Earlier in the day the storm passed over western Pinar del Rio, turning rutted country roads into red-brown, muddy quagmires, and lashing humble homes, rural schools and thatched tobacco-drying huts with wind.

A Category 2 hurricane the previous day, Paula lost strength as it crawled along the island’s north-western coast and was downgraded to a tropical storm yesterday morning.

Cuba’s weak economy was devastated when Hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma hit Pinar del Rio and other parts of the island in 2008, starting in late August. Fruit and vegetables disappeared off shelves, and shortages were exacerbated by widespread hoarding. More than 1,000 people were arrested for hurricane-related crimes, accused of stealing everything from petrol and cement to rice and powdered milk.

The trio of storms did an estimated 10 billion dollars damage – or a quarter of Cuba’s total GDP – a terrible blow for a country already reeling from the global economic downturn, a drop in tourism and low prices for nickel and other raw materials.

Pinar del Rio is known for its high-quality tobacco fields and is crucial for Cuba’s famed cigar industry. Growers had planned to begin planting on Tuesday for next year’s harvest, although many held off due to the storm.

Paula brushed by Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before arriving in Cuba, causing the only fatality associated with the storm so far.