HAVANA, (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Paula weakened further yesterday after blasting through the Cuban capital with driving rains and high winds that toppled trees, flooded streets and left large swaths of the city without power.
There were no reports yet of building collapses that usually plague the crumbling capital in stormy weather, nor of any injuries or deaths.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Paula’s top sustained winds had dropped to 45 miles per hour (75 kph) after it moved inland in northwestern Cuba and swept eastward.
The storm was skirting along the north central coast 70 miles (112 km) east of Havana, near the beach resort of Varadero, and going east at 14 mph (22 km).
It was likely to be downgraded to a tropical depression on Friday, the Miami-based center said in its latest advisory.
Paula, a small storm that lost its hurricane strength earlier in the day, crept ashore in northwestern Cuba around noon and moved east across the Caribbean island, where it had been expected to peter out over mountainous terrain.
But the worst of its weather stayed offshore in the Straits of Florida and a small portion dipped down into Havana to whip the city with wind and drenching rains as the storm’s eye passed just to the south.
The stormy weather, which lasted about two hours, caused minor flooding around the city and sent waves crashing over the Malecon, the city’s famous seaside boulevard. Toppled trees and power lines blocked many streets.
When night fell, much of Havana, a city of 2.2 million people, was in the dark due to widespread power outages.