Heavy rain in Cuba heralds advance of Hurricane Paula

Cubans have been put on alert as Hurricane Paula approaches the island.

Travel Insurance News - 14/10/2010

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Hurricane Paula has weakened, say experts, but she still packs a punch. As the storm approached the Caribbean island, winds from the hurricane hit 130km/h and Cuban officials were primarily worried about extensive rain.

The hurricane touched the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico before veering towards Cuba. Civil defence officials in Cuba warned people in Pinar del Rio, a province in the west of Cuba, to be on the alert for the hurricane’s arrival. Paula will be the first hurricane to hit Cuba in this year’s hurricane season.

However Jose Rubiera, the top meteorologist in Cuba, said the storm was expected to grow weaker. He says there could be some heavy rain in some parts of Pinar del Rio but the potential for prolonged rain would be of more concern than intense downpours.

At one point, Paula was classified as a category-two storm, packing winds up to 160 km/h. She failed to cause any damage in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. In Honduras, Paula left 19 homes damaged. Over recent weeks, thousands of people have been left homeless across Central America and Mexico by flooding and a series of landslides.

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