• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 10 / 14 / 2010

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AFP. Cuba on storm alert as weakened Paula approaches AFP/NASA – NASA handout satellite image shows Hurricane Paula. Cuba put residents on alert Wednesday as a weakened …

Wed Oct 13, 7:34 pm ET. HAVANA (AFP) – Cuba put residents on alert Wednesday as a weakened Hurricane Paula neared the island after drenching Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, officials said.

The storm, which was downgraded to category one earlier in the day, was on track to hit western portions of Cuba en route to the Florida Keys, forecasters said.

Cuba's civil defense called on coastal residents in Pinar del Rio to take precautions and said the storm may also cause damage to the capital city Havana, the provinces of La Habana and the Isle of Youth.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Paula, downgraded during the day from category two strength, was still packing maximum sustained winds of 85 miles (140 kilometers) an hour, as it brought deteriorating weather to western Cuba.

It was moving north at around five miles (seven kilometers) an hour.

"A gradual weakening is expected during the next day or two," the center said in its 2100 GMT advisory.

Paula was expected to bring at least three (seven centimeters) to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain to Cuba, with isolated maximum amounts of 10 inches (25 centimeters), it added.

The center said a hurricane warning was in effect for Cuba's Pinar del Rio province and tropical storm warning for other sections of Cuba. A tropical storm watch was in effect for parts of the Florida Keys.

Earlier, Mexico lifted its highest red-level alert after the storm swept within miles (kilometers) of resort areas where some 27,000 tourists were staying, causing no serious damage.

"The hurricane came very close but didn't cause major damage to the coastlines," said Felix Gonzalez, governor of southeastern Quintana Roo state.

Paula could be the first hurricane of the Atlantic season to make landfall in Cuba, which was slammed in 2008 by a trio of major hurricanes, causing some 10 billion dollars in damage.

Tropical Storm Nicole struck the island two weeks ago, cutting off villages and damaging farmland, but also raising depleted water reserves.

Paula is the ninth hurricane of the June-through-November Atlantic season.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had predicted an especially stormy 2010, with 14 to 23 named storms for this season, including eight to 14 hurricanes.

On average, there are 11 named storms, six of which become hurricanes.

Source: AFP