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Hurricane Paloma ravages central Cuba

SANTA CRUZ DEL SUR (Cuba): Cubans returned to homes demolished by Hurricane Paloma even as the once-powerful storm dissipated off the coast on Monday.

The hurricane washed out fishing villages, ripped the roofs off factories and ravaged roads, but the government reported that no one was killed. Coastal Santa Cruz del Sur took a direct hit when Paloma struck as a Category 4 hurricane on Saturday night. Ten-foot-high waves carried away wooden houses, leaving a tangled mess of smashed furniture and strewn belongings bobbing in the surf. “Everything is gone! Oh, my God!” gasped Xiomara Rivero, a 66-year-old retiree who burst into tears upon returning to her home. The single remaining wall was covered with seaweed. All around lay the ruined remains of her belongings, a table split in two, smashed chairs, a water-logged mattresses.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the remains of Paloma were hanging off the north coast on Monday, and said the storm was not expected to regain force. — AP

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