Modest damage in first reports from Cuba after Hurricane Paloma

Havana/Miami_(dpa) _ The first reports late Sunday from Cuba following Hurricane Paloma described relatively modest damage from the storm.

The initial assessments were a relief on the island, where rebuilding was still underway from two earlier storms during the current hurricane season.

The only significant damage was reported from the coastal city of Santa Cruz del Sur, where the storm made landfall Saturday night with reported wind speeds of 195 kilometres per hour.

Cuban authorities said that 400 houses there were destroyed and another 4,000 were damaged in the hurricane. Communications in the area were disrupted due to a communications tower toppled by the storm.

Some inland flooding was reported. There were no storm deaths in Cuba.

After passing over land, the storm had weakened to a tropical depression, and forecasters expected the remnants of the weather system to break up on Monday.

November typically marks the last month of the Atlantic hurricane season. dpa pr jbl ff