Paloma lost its punch as it stalled over Cuba on Sunday and was downgraded to a tropical depression after coming ashore as powerful hurricane that battered the island still recovering from two earlier storms.
Paloma left a trail of destruction through eastern Cuba, but not the widespread devastation of hurricanes Gustav and Ike that caused $8 billion in damage when they struck in August and September.
CAMAGUEY, Cuba (AP) — Crashing waves and a powerful sea surge from Hurricane Paloma destroyed hundreds of homes along Cuba’s southern coast, but the storm rapidly weakened into a tropical depression Sunday as it moved over the island.
Early damage reports were limited, but state media said the late-season storm toppled a major communications tower, interrupted electricity and phone service and sent sea water almost a mile (1 1/2 kilometers) inland, ravaging a coastal community near where it made landfall.
Hurricane Paloma, heading toward Cuba, is packing sustained winds of 135 mph and has been upgraded to Category 4 status, meteorologists said Saturday.
Accuweater.com forecasters said Paloma was expected to make landfall late Saturday night or early Sunday morning along the south-central coast of Cuba. Rain and strong winds were already pounding the Cayman Islands Saturday as officials urged residents to stay off the streets and evacuated some low-lying coastal regions.
Hurricane Paloma strengthened over the Caribbean and may become a Category 3 storm before hitting Cuba, which is still recovering from hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
Paloma’s maximum sustained winds increased to 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, from 120 kph earlier today, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on its Web site just before 7 a.m. Miami time. The system, which is forecast to continue strengthening, was about 395 kilometers (245 miles) west of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and moving north at 13 kph.
Authorities worked to contain oil spills after Hurricane Omar sank boats near the coasts of the Virgin Islands. St. Croix authorities were trying to contain oil spills after more than 40 boats sank or washed ashore during Hurricane Omar.
About half the vessels lost their anchors, including houseboats, catamarans and pricey yachts and sailboats owned by tourists. The other half were tied at marinas but broke loose, Carlos Fachette, enforcement director for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said Friday.
CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands - Hurricane Omar weakened Thursday as it quickly moved away from the Caribbean through the northern Leeward Islands without causing major damage.
The powerful core of the storm, with the most intense winds, passed overnight between St. Martin and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, said Lixion Avila, a hurricane specialist with the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
“It could have been worse,” Avila said. “They were very, very lucky.”
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands - Schools and businesses closed and shelters opened Wednesday on several Caribbean islands in the path of Hurricane Omar, which could rev up to a Category 2 storm before coming ashore overnight.
U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. John deJongh closed all public schools, told government employees to head home at midmorning and imposed a 6 p.m. (2200 GMT) curfew on the islands of St. Thomas and St. John. He also activated the National Guard.
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) — Omar strengthen to a hurricane Tuesday night as it churned in Caribbean waters near Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center said.
Omar formed Tuesday in the eastern Caribbean and dumped heavy rain on the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao off the coast of Venezuela. At 11 p.m. ET, its center was about 315 miles (505 km) south-southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The storm was moving northeast near 6 mph (9 kph).
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands - Omar strengthened into a hurricane late Tuesday and drenched islands in the southeastern Caribbean, downing trees and blowing off a school’s roof as it menaced U.S. islands.
Authorities issued a hurricane warning for the U.S. Virgin islands as well as Puerto Rico’s Vieques and Culebra islands. Hurricane warnings were also in place for St. Martin, the British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis and other islands.
Officials in Puerto Rico, already soaked from several days of rain, warned residents to prepare for a lot more and medical authorities appealed for blood donations for possible casualties.
PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) — Dozens of people evacuated their flooded homes on Saturday as Hurricane Norbert lashed the Baja California peninsula in Mexico with torrential rains and screaming winds.
The hurricane, with winds of up to 105 miles per hour, was expected to hit land along a sparsely populated stretch north of Cabo San Lucas, a resort on the peninsula’s tip, the United States National Hurricane Center said. It was expected to make a second landfall on Saturday night on the mainland of northwestern Mexico, the center said.
Residents fled to shelters as floodwaters rose in their homes. In the town of Puerto San Carlos, winds bent palm trees, and water was knee deep on some streets.
